Walking Liberty Half Dollar Centennial Gold

The Walking Liberty Half Dollar Centennial Gold Coin is a modern United States collector coin the U.S. Mint issued in 2016 to mark 100 years since Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty half dollar first appeared in 1916. It reproduces Weinman's celebrated half-dollar design but is struck in gold rather than the 90% silver of the circulating original.

Each coin contains one-half of a troy ounce of .9999 fine (24-karat) gold, a fact stated directly on the reverse with the markings "1/2 OZ." and "AU 24K." It was sold as a numismatic keepsake rather than for circulation, and carries the "W" mint mark of the West Point Mint. The example shown is dated 2016-W.

The original half dollar this coin honors was designed by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman and struck in 90% silver from 1916 through 1947. Its obverse shows Liberty striding toward the dawn, draped in the American flag and carrying branches of laurel and oak; the design is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in U.S. coinage and was later revived for the American Silver Eagle.

In 2016 the U.S. Mint produced gold centennial versions of three beloved 1916-era designs — the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter, and the Walking Liberty half dollar — to celebrate their 100th anniversaries. The gold Walking Liberty half was the last of the three, released in December 2016 with an announced production limit (reported at 70,000 coins). It was offered directly to collectors and never entered circulation, so it never traded at its 50-cent face value.

The obverse carries Weinman's full-length figure of Liberty walking left toward the sunrise, draped in the flag and holding branches, with "LIBERTY" around the rim, "IN GOD WE TRUST" in the field, and the date "2016." The reverse shows a powerful eagle with outstretched wings perched on a mountain crag, encircled by "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM," with "HALF DOLLAR" below.

The features that mark it as the gold centennial issue — not an original silver half — are the reverse metal-content inscriptions "1/2 OZ." and "AU 24K," the "W" mint mark, and the coin's small diameter yet heavy feel. It measures about 27 mm across and weighs roughly 15.55 grams (one-half troy ounce), noticeably smaller than the 30.6 mm silver half dollar despite being heavier. The edge is reeded and the finish is a bright, specimen-quality uncirculated strike.

Because the coin contains about a half ounce of gold, its baseline worth tracks the gold market and moves with bullion prices; it always trades far above its symbolic 50-cent face value. On top of that melt value it carries a collector premium tied to its centennial status and comparatively low release limit.

Examples typically change hands for their gold content plus a modest-to-moderate numismatic premium, with sealed original-packaging coins and high-grade certified pieces (for example those graded SP-70 by NGC or PCGS) bringing the strongest prices. Because values move with gold, check current spot prices and recent certified sales rather than relying on a fixed figure.