1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar. Obverse. MS-64 (NGC). This half dollar has splendid frosty luster and the slightly textured finish seen so often on early date Walking Liberty issues. The strike is quite sharp and the surfaces are brilliant with just the lightest golden tinting seen mostly on the reverse. This is a low mintage date with only 952,000 pieces struck in 1917 at San Francisco with the mintmark prominently placed on the obverse. For many years this issue was considered one of the key dates to the series, especially in high grades. Later in 1917, the U.S. Mint decided to move the mintmark on the Walking Liberty half dollar from the obverse to the reverse. This change was requested by the Mint Director F.J.H. von Engelken as he personally didnt like the mint mark on the obverse of the coin. This created two varieties struck in 1917 from the Denver and San Francisco Mints. In both cases, the obverse variety is the rarer of the two. This is a coin worthy of a fine collection.