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Non-Proof Walker Half Dollars - Post your FULLY STRUCK example (including full thumb, hand, dress)

keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,521 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited July 10, 2022 1:14PM in U.S. Coin Forum

I really like the design. But it baffles me as to why there is no "fully struck" designation for them.
Mercury Dimes have "Full Bands" or Fully Split Bands
There's Full Head for the SLQ. They should have full shield too.
There's FBL for Franklins.
There are Full Steps for Jefferson Nickels.

Why no full thumb or at minimum, full hand? What about full dress?

Grading services have discussed releasing value or creating value for collectors that have collected the right coins (think + grades). But this would also be a boom for the grading services and registry sets. Why haven't they done this?

There have been discussions about Buffalo nickels with a full split tail, full horn, hair on the back of the buffalo etc.

Why no blanket Full Strike designation for nearly all coins? That's where things should go, rather than just a head but ignoring a shield...or hand, thumb and ignoring the dress etc etc.

Anyway, feel free to post Fully Struck business strike Walker Half Dollars that have fully defined thumbs, not just the left hand. If TPGs were to implement this designation, it would likely only impact a few dates since a lot of dates just aren't available fully struck.

Thoughts, feelings, posting of your examples?...ready, set, go...

"If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:

Comments

  • TomBTomB Posts: 21,831 ✭✭✭✭✭

    "Why no full thumb or at minimum, full hand? What about full dress?"

    Be careful what you wish for...

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • FlyingAlFlyingAl Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Even the proofs have problems with fully detailed hands, so you'll probably end up with a designation for business strikes like you mentioned eventually, but who knows...

    Coin Photographer.

  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,521 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @TomB said:
    "Why no full thumb or at minimum, full hand? What about full dress?"

    Be careful what you wish for...

    I do not collect them, so I am okay. I'm just stirring the pot on a Sunday afternoon and telling PCGS how they can get a windfall of cash. :wink:

    I have thought about acquiring a nice example or two one day, more in the realms of a fully struck example, but that is about it.

    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • jesbrokenjesbroken Posts: 10,274 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Ok keyman, I'm waiting to see what your op has to offer. Anyone?
    Jim


    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

    Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'm Ok without any extra designations....these criteria are confusing enough on the series' they are currently used in. Like someone sending in a Merc dime multiple times to finally slip by with Full Bands, then next you know CAC won't approve it, as it's not FB by THEIR standards, etc....and as for Full Torch Roosie dimes commanding a premium - really?! And I've seen (heck I think I still own one somewhere) of a 36P with sharp full rounded thumb, "knuckles showing", as we call it - but the head is flat as a pancake. Would that be worth a premium? Probably not.

    Let the specialists and experts enjoy hunting well struck specimens w/o "assistance" from the TPGs, and adding more wrinkles to the registry game. And like the OP pointed out - you likely could not assemble a complete set of Full Thumb walkers anyway.

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • MaywoodMaywood Posts: 2,674 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 10, 2022 7:39PM

    All the designations/attributions used by the prime TPG's are speculative at best and irrelevant at worst, please don't ask for another one on Walkers. The best struck Walker I've ever seen or owned was a 1934 Philly that I bought a number of years ago at a club auction, hammered to the max with sharp detail all the way down from head to foot, fully struck thumb and finger detail.

    PCGS called it AU58 and I still don't know why.

  • 1946Hamm1946Hamm Posts: 787 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I like the idea of having a thumb showing. That means the strike is very good. I have a 33-47-s set in PCGS 65 all with the thumb showing and it makes a nice set. I wish the 3rd party grading companies would pay more attention to strike than they do. Some full head standing liberty quarters have a full head but are terribly struck. I am always surprised when I see a 67 or 68 WLH that have no hand let alone any sign of a thumb. Many of the top rated sets have some terrible strikes in them. I have posted my set here before and got nice responses. It was in the walker wednesday thread.

    Have a good day, Gary
  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Early on, when collecting walkers in the wild, my focus was on strike and (lack of) marks. When I later submitted them for grading, the TPGs were not impressed. It’s all about the luster.

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have wondered why the WLH did not have a 'focus feature' (as I have termed such designations). I think the hand is the best candidate on the WLH for such designation. That being said, we have come this far without it, so unlikely it will happen in the future. Collectors will continue to use it as discerning criteria though. Cheers, RickO

  • Eldorado9Eldorado9 Posts: 2,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very well struck 40-s:

  • olympicsosolympicsos Posts: 860 ✭✭✭✭

    The breast feathers on the back are hard to find fully struck. The 2016 gold centennial walker is the fullest strike walker you'll get.

  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Eldorado9 said:
    Very well struck 40-s:

    Interesting coin. It’s obvious from the die polish lines that this die was well used, and yet the details for a 40S are exceptional.
    They must have turned up the press force after reinstalling the die.

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • ChrisH821ChrisH821 Posts: 6,622 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Another 36.

    Collector, occasional seller

  • Eldorado9Eldorado9 Posts: 2,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Walkerguy21D said:

    @Eldorado9 said:
    Very well struck 40-s:

    Interesting coin. It’s obvious from the die polish lines that this die was well used, and yet the details for a 40S are exceptional.
    They must have turned up the press force after reinstalling the die.

    Thank you @Walkerguy21D ! I have seen one other 40-s here on the board, with the exact same die polish lines, looked like the identical dies, and the strike was also strong on that coin as well.

  • lermishlermish Posts: 3,470 ✭✭✭✭✭

    chopmarkedtradedollars.com

  • brocmitchellbrocmitchell Posts: 96 ✭✭✭

    This one is quite well struck for a 1942-S. I regret every day selling this coin. It was my first PCGS submission after switching from ATS. Had I known better I would have sent it for reconsideration. Someone else did and the cert number is no longer valid, I can only wonder at the results... I've spent more time than is healthy comparing these TVs with 66+ and 67 TV's and think PCGS did me wrong the first time around!


  • rokkyrokky Posts: 308 ✭✭✭✭

    Truthfully, I don’t care about any of the designations. Full this, full that. I don’t make it a priority to pursue coins with these designations. But I do prefer well struck coins over poorly struck coins. Doesn’t have to be a full strike, just better than average. Eye appeal will always be a key factor too.

  • Eldorado9Eldorado9 Posts: 2,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @brocmitchell said:
    This one is quite well struck for a 1942-S. I regret every day selling this coin. It was my first PCGS submission after switching from ATS. Had I known better I would have sent it for reconsideration. Someone else did and the cert number is no longer valid, I can only wonder at the results... I've spent more time than is healthy comparing these TVs with 66+ and 67 TV's and think PCGS did me wrong the first time around!


    Your 42-s is for sure well struck for an "s" mint. Here is mine (Ms-66) for example purposes. I like yours better.

  • messydeskmessydesk Posts: 20,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ricko said:
    I have wondered why the WLH did not have a 'focus feature' (as I have termed such designations).

    I imagine it has a lot to do with the Red Book flat out stating that Mercury dimes with full central bands, SLQs with full head details, but being silent on specific strike characteristics of WLHs. The 1962 Red Book says that well struck Buffalo nickels and WLHs are worth more, but doesn't define a feature. I don't have a later pre-TPG Red Book to see how that guidance evolved. I know they eventually called out full steps on Jefferson nickels.

  • coastaljerseyguycoastaljerseyguy Posts: 1,497 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I looked thru my collection after reading thread and although I knew a fully struck coin for the hand area was not common, didn't realize how rare it was. My best, also a 36P. I only have about 15 in MS so that limited my population. This was an MS62

  • Eldorado9Eldorado9 Posts: 2,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Interesting how the 1936's keep popping up with good strikes...Was that the high water mark in terms of WL striking? Perhaps it was?

  • gonzergonzer Posts: 3,044 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Fully struck should show a clear thumb and the Nike logo on her tennies.

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