1946 WALKING LIBERTY Half Dollar Bald Eagle United States Silver Coin i44668

Description

Item:
i44668
Authentic Coin of:
United States of America
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Silver Half Dollar 30mm This coin is 90% silver, and 10% copper.
LIBERTY IN GOD WE TRUST
1946
,
Lady Liberty
, the folds of the Stars and Stripes flying to the breeze as a background, progressing in full stride toward the dawn of a new day, carrying branches of laurel and oak, symbolical of civil and military glory. The hand of the figure is outstretched in bestowal of the spirit of liberty.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HALF DOLLAR,  a bald
eagle perched high upon a mountain crag, his wings unfolded, fearless in spirit and conscious of his power. Springing from a rift in the rock is a sapling of mountain pine, symbolical of America
; E PLURIBUS UNUM "out of many, one" in field to left.
A beautiful coin illustrating true U.S. Constitutional currency which defined the dollar as a quantity of silver. What is interesting to note is that United States of America coins, which were dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars were made of silver until 1964 as per the mandate of the 1792 Coinage Act. The advantage of currency backed by precious metals being a medium of exchange that maintains and perhaps even gains buying power over time. There was little or no inflation when the ideals of the founding fathers were followed. The idea of paper money was a piece of paper which was exchangeable for coins at any time. It allowed you to easily transport your money without having to carry the weight of the gold silver and non-precious metal USA coins.
Article I, Section. 10 of U.S. Constitution
"No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin as Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
It is also interesting to note that silver is an industrial metal and supplies are being used up at rapid rates. Silver coins were placed in jugs of water as per it's anti-microbial properties. Also when cows were milked, many used or still use silver pails to catch the milk. Silver is also used in electronics as it is non-corrosive. Another interesting thing was that at times in history, American people were actually able to bring their silver to the U.S. mint and get silver coins in exchange.
The great idea of money is for it to be plentiful to allow for easy exchange. You see, contrary to popular belief, US money, even with the 1792 Coinage Act did have what may be described as fiat, or coins of non-precious metal. The 1 Cent or Penny Coins were made of copper and the 5 Cent or Nickel coins were made of nickel. However, the brilliant thing is that the copper and nickel coins were exchangeable for silver and gold coins. So because of this, there was gold and silver backing, in effect for the copper and nickel coins. So the amazing thing is that there was plentiful money, which was issued constantly and did not bear any interest for it's use.
So in conclusion, money is an interesting topic of discussion and study. It can both free and enslave and there is a lot of good in all types of systems. What is also amazing is that the money of the United States has the words "In God We Trust". This makes this phrase the most written phrase in existence. The more we love people and use money as a tool for their benefit, the better the world is becoming. We live in an amazing time and world where we are connected via the internet and where the best ideas are winning.
Two great documentary films to watch on this topic is Money Masters and The Secret of Oz.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
The
Walking Liberty half dollar
was a
silver
50-cent piece or
half dollar
coin
issued by the
United States Mint
from 1916 to 1947; it was designed by
Adolph A. Weinman
.
In 1915, the new Mint Director,
Robert W. Woolley
, came to believe that he was not only allowed but required by law to replace coin designs that had been in use for 25 years. He therefore began the process of replacing the
Barber coinage
:
dimes
,
quarters
and half dollars, all bearing similar designs by long-time Mint Engraver
Charles E. Barber
, and first struck in 1892. Woolley had the
Commission of Fine Arts
conduct a competition, as a result of which Weinman was selected to design
the dime
and half dollar.
Weinman's design of Liberty striding towards the Sun for the half dollar proved difficult to perfect, and
Treasury Secretary
William G. McAdoo
, whose department included the Mint, considered having Barber create his own design. Mint officials were successful in getting Weinman's design into production, although it never struck very well, which may have been a factor in its replacement by the
Franklin half dollar
beginning in 1948. Nevertheless, art historian
Cornelius Vermeule
considered the piece to be among the most beautiful US coins. Since 1986, a modification of Weinman's
obverse
design has been used for the
American Silver Eagle
.
Goddesses named for and representing the concept
Liberty
have existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the
Roman Empire
and some national symbols such as the
British
"
Britannia
" or the
Irish
"
Kathleen Ni Houlihan
".
Classical examples
The
ancient Roman
goddess
Libertas
was honored during the
second Punic War
by a temple erected on the
Aventine Hill
in
Rome
by the father of
Tiberius Gracchus
. A statue in her honor was also raised by
Clodius
on the site of
Marcus Tullius Cicero
's house after it had been razed. The figure also resembles Sol Invictus, the Roman god of sun.
Neoclassical references
In 1793, during the
French Revolution
, the
Notre Dame de Paris
cathedral
was turned into a "
Cult of Reason
" and for a time "Lady Liberty" replaced the
Virgin Mary
on several altars.
National embodiments of Liberty include
Britannia
in the
United Kingdom
, "
Liberty Enlightening the World
," commonly known as the
Statue of Liberty
in the
United States of America
, and
Marianne
in
France
.
Embodiments of the goddess Liberty in the
United States of America
include
Columbia
, which is yet another
personification
of the goddess Liberty.
The
bald eagle
(
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
, from Greek
hali-
= sea,
aiētos
=
eagle
,
leuco-
= white,
cephalos
= head) is a
bird of prey
found in North America. A
sea eagle
, it has two known sub-species and forms a
species pair
with the
white-tailed eagle
(
Haliaeetus albicilla
). Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the
contiguous United States
, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on
fish
, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest
nest
of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1
metric ton
(1.1
short tons
) in weight.
Sexual maturity
is attained at the age of four to five years.
Bald eagles are not actually
bald
; the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in
plumage
, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The
beak
is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.
The bald eagle is both the
national bird
and
national animal
of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its
Seal
. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of
extirpation
in the continental United States. Populations recovered and the species was removed from the
U.S. federal government's
list of
endangered species
on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of
threatened species
. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the
Lower 48
States on June 28, 2007.
The
Coinage Act
or the
Mint Act
, passed by the
United States Congress
on April 2, 1792, established the
United States Mint
and regulated the coinage of the United States. The long title of the legislation is
An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States
. This act established the silver
dollar
as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a
decimal
system for U.S. currency.
By the Act, the Mint was to be situated at the
seat of government
of the United States. The five original officers of the U.S. Mint were a Director, an Assayer, a Chief Coiner, an Engraver, and a
Treasurer
(not the same as the
Secretary of the Treasury
). The Act allowed that one person could perform the functions of Chief Coiner and Engraver. The Assayer, Chief Coiner and Treasurer were required to post a ,000 bond with the Secretary of the Treasury.
Although some of the provisions in the 1792 Coinage Act were adjusted as time went by, the majority of the rules specified in this Act remained in effect for many decades. Essentially, it provided the basic framework on which all subsequent coinage production was based. While the first draft of the Act stipulated that all coins would employ a portrait of the president on the obverse, the final version called for an image emblematic of liberty. The Act also authorized construction of a
mint building in Philadelphia
, the nation's capital. This was the first federal building erected under the
United States Constitution
. Mint director
David Rittenhouse
laid the building's
cornerstone
on July 31.
On May 8, 1792
An Act to Provide For a Copper Coinage
was signed into law by President
George Washington
. This legislation resulted in the birth of the copper cent, from which descends today's one cent piece. The Act also stipulated that "the director of the mint... be authorized to contract for and purchase a quantity of copper, not exceeding one hundred and fifty tons... to be coined at the mint into cents and half-cents... and be paid into the treasury of the United States, thence to issue into circulation." Furthermore, "no copper coins or pieces whatsoever except the said cents and half-cents, shall pass current as money, or shall be paid, or offered to be paid or received in payment for any debt, demand, claims, matter or thing whatsoever."
Effects
Merchants and bankers were reluctant to bring silver bullion to the Mint because the disclosure of the illegal silver standard that was previously in effect. The silver coinage of 1794 and 1795 employed a 0.900 fine standard instead of the 0.8924+ standard (317.25/416=0.89242788461) as prescribed in the Mint Act of April 2, 1792 (Heritage Coin Auction #390, Vol III, p. 117). The most immediate effect of this practice was that depositors ended up paying an addition 2.5 grams of silver bullion (about 10% extra) for every dollar they received (Taxay, 1966, p. 89). When this became widely known, bullion deposits brought to the mint declined significantly in 1796 and 1797.
Authorization and free coinage
The Act authorized production of the following coins:
Eagles

247
4
/
8
grain
(16.0 g) pure or 270 grain (17.5 g) standard
gold
Half Eagles

123
6
/
8
grain (8.02 g) pure or 135 grain (8.75 g) standard gold
Quarter Eagles
.50
61
7
/
8
grain (4.01 g) pure or 67
4
/
8
grain (4.37 g) standard gold
Dollars
or Units

371
4
/
16
grain (24.1 g) pure or 416 grain (27.0 g) standard
silver
Half Dollars
{{detail_product_description}}.50
185
10
/
16
grain (12.0 g) pure or 208 grain (13.5 g) standard silver
Quarter Dollars
{{detail_product_description}}.25
92
13
/
16
grain (6.01 g) pure or 104 grains (6.74 g) standard silver
Disme
{{detail_product_description}}.10
37
2
/
16
grain (2.41 g) pure or 41
3
/
5
grain (2.70 g) standard silver
Half Disme
{{detail_product_description}}.05
18
9
/
16
grain (1.20 g) pure or 20
4
/
5
grain (1.35 g) standard silver
Cents
{{detail_product_description}}.01
11
pennyweights
(17.1 g) of
copper
Half Cents
{{detail_product_description}}.005
5
1
/
2
pennyweights (8.55 g) of copper
The coins were to contain the following markings:
One side was to have an impression emblematic of liberty, with the inscription "Liberty", and the year of the coinage.
The reverse side of each of the gold and silver coins was to have the figure or representation of an eagle with the inscription "U
NITED
S
TATES OF
A
MERICA
."
The reverse of the copper coins was to have an inscription expressing the denomination.
The Act defined the proportional value of gold and silver as 15 units of pure silver to 1 unit of pure gold. Standard gold was defined as 11 parts pure gold to one part alloy composed of silver and copper. Standard silver was defined as 1485 parts pure silver to 179 parts copper alloy. The Act also specified the dollar as the "money of account" of the United States, and directed that all accounts of the federal government be kept in dollars, "
dismes
",
cents
, and "
milles
", a mille being one-tenth of a cent or one-thousandth of a dollar. The silver content of a dollar under this act was almost exactly equal to
1
/
5
of the silver content of the contemporary British
pound sterling
, or 4 British shillings.
Under
Sec.14
, any person could bring gold or silver bullion and have it coined free of charge, or later for a small fee, exchange it immediately for an equivalent value of coin. The paragraph summary states: "Persons may bring gold and silver bullion, to be coined free of expense;"
Quality control
measures were implemented in that from each separate mass of gold or silver used to produce coins, three coins were set aside by the treasurer. Each year on the last Monday in July, under the inspection of the
Chief Justice
, the Secretary and Comptroller of the Treasury, the
Secretary of State
, and the
Attorney General
, the coins were to be
assayed
and if the coins did not meet established standards, the officers were disqualified from office. The meetings later became formalized as the
United States Assay Commission
, which continued meeting until it was disbanded in 1980.
Section 19 of the Act established a penalty of death for debasing the gold or silver coins authorized by the Act, or embezzlement of the metals for those coins, by officers or employees of the mint; this section of the Act apparently remains in effect and would, in theory, continue to apply in the case of "any of the gold or silver coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint." (At present the only gold or silver coins struck by the US mint are the
American Silver Eagle
and the
American Gold Eagle
coins, some
Proof coinage
at the
San Francisco Mint
, such as the silver
US State Quarters
, and much of the
Commemorative coinage of the United States
.) All other sections of the act have been superseded, as for example the
Coinage Act of 1834
changing the silver-to-gold weight ratio. Various acts have subsequently been passed affecting the amount and type of metal in U. S. coins, so that today there is no legal definition of the term "dollar" to be found in U. S. statute. Current statutes regulating coinage in the United States may be found in
Title 31 of the United States Code
.
See also
Coinage Act of 1834
Coinage Act of 1849
Coinage Act of 1857
Coinage Act of 1864
Coinage Act of 1873
Coinage Act of 1965
Mill (currency)
Frequently Asked Questionsuestionssnssns
How long until my order is shipped?
Depending on the volume of sales, it may take up to 5 business days for shipment of your order after the receipt of payment.
How will I know when the order was shipped?
After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that date should be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date.
After you shipped the order, how long will the mail take?
USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S., international shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country to country. I am not responsible for any USPS delivery delays, especially for an international package.
What is a certificate of authenticity and what guarantees do you give that the item is authentic?
Each of the items sold here, is provided with a Certificate of Authenticity, and a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity, issued by a world-renowned numismatic and antique expert that has identified over 10000 ancient coins and has provided them with the same guarantee. You will be quite happy with what you get with the COA; a professional presentation of the coin, with all of the relevant information and a picture of the coin you saw in the listing.
Compared to other certification companies, the certificate of authenticity is a -50 value. So buy a coin today and own a piece of history, guaranteed.
Is there a money back guarantee?
I offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee. I stand behind my coins and would be willing to exchange your order for either store credit towards other coins, or refund, minus shipping expenses, within 30 days from the receipt of your order. My goal is to have the returning customers for a lifetime, and I am so sure in my coins, their authenticity, numismatic value and beauty, I can offer such a guarantee.
Is there a number I can call you with questions about my order?
You can contact me directly via ask seller a question and request my telephone number, or go to my About Me Page to get my contact information only in regards to items purchased on eBay.
When should I leave feedback?
Once you receive your order, please leave a positive. Please don't leave any negative feedbacks, as it happens many times that people rush to leave feedback before letting sufficient time for the order to arrive. Also, if you sent an email, make sure to check for my reply in your messages before claiming that you didn't receive a response. The matter of fact is that any issues can be resolved, as reputation is most important to me. My goal is to provide superior products and quality of service.