Calling on WLH collectors

[Deleted User]

I am slowly working on building a set of WLH. Right now I am focusing on the 1942-S. I've been studying the difficult dates and what to expect. I watched a great YouTube video hosted by I Ray Herz. He explained in detail how difficult it is to acquire a full left hand on this type. Does anyone have a full thumb of this type? Is it even possible? What's the closest one can get?
Aside from this date are their any other dates that are very difficult?
I'm not looking for 67 or 68 grades. I'd be happy with a 65 or 66 with a great strike in almost every year. I'm trying to learn what is realistic and what is not for this type.
Any information on this series will be helpful. Particularly with grading them. The high points of the strike and what to look for. I think I have a general idea buy that doesn't mean I know for sure. Some images and an idea of what's a good buy would also be helpful.
Thank you!

gumby1234

One of these will have everything you need to know.

ricko

@Watchtower .... The WLH is a great coin, and a set like you are building will look really nice. As noted above, get the book...and, if you can, go to a large coin show. Lots of opportunities to see WLH's and talk to collectors. Cheers, RickO

Connecticoin

You can find a 42-S with a well defined thumb (but not like a 43-P), but a bit of searching will be needed. Look through the trueviews in Coinfacts to see what is possible.

Treashunt

I was collecting WLH back in the 1970's.

I can say that the 1941 S, 1942 S and 1943S are all very difficult to find with nice strikes.

Very difficult.

gumby1234

@Watchtower I know that these days its easier to find things because of the internet. I think the best way if you want to seriously collect any series is to get a book about them and dive in. It will have all the info you need at your fingertips AND unlike much info online it will be accurate.

Walkerguy21D

@gumby1234 said:
@Watchtower I know that these days its easier to find things because of the internet. I think the best way if you want to seriously collect any series is to get a book about them and dive in. It will have all the info you need at your fingertips AND unlike much info online it will be accurate.

Frankly, Fox's book although very good, is both somewhat limited and dated - it was issued in 1993, when both the internet and the TPGs were very young. We were discussing (Bruce and I) around 2000 the need for a second edition. Which of course never came to pass because of his untimely demise. Realize most of his data came from his personal observations, inputs from a handful of, at the time, expert walker collectors, and info from the TPGs.

The internet today is invaluable. If you want to see strikes and variations on 42S walkers, go to Heritage, etc auction archives and review dozens of them, as well as Coinfacts, as was previously suggested.

And unless you really want only walkers with full thumbs, I'd suggest focusing on those with decent above average strikes, plus other attractive attributes. You may find the white elephant with a full thumb, but it may be unattractive or have other issues.
Best of luck!

coinbuf

I do not collect walkers as a series, but I do have several. Just recently there was a thread involving the 40-S, this is another very challenging date to find with a full, or even somewhat, defined thumb. Many 65 thru 67 graded 40-S coins will have little to even no thumb showing. There are some nice well defined examples out there but this is another that requires some searching.

[Deleted User]

Great feedback. I do use the internet to my advantage. I am in no hurry. I don't mind sifting through the available marketplace. I'm sure over time they will pop up! It's good to know that this forum can be used as a resource for opinions when the time comes to buy.

jesbroken

While I have only been collecting Walker's for 4 or 5 years now, I can say the nicest one I've seen with much of a thumb was an AU58 and the man was asking MS67 prices for it. Wish I had pics of it, but do not as it was at a show in Charleston, WV. I have probably looked at near a thousand on ebay, heritage, gc and others and have not had the luck to find one. If so, I would probably not be able to afford it. Good luck and you will have a great time with your collection, I know I did.
Jim

bagofnickels

S mint walkers are tough. My set is missing the 43s and 44s as of right now. Here are the tougher dates I have. I think the strike for each is above average.

42 S MS64

40 S MS65 CAC

41 S MS65+

59Horsehide

Another book resource I found very interesting and helpful is Jeff Ambio's "Collecting and Investing Strategies for Walking Liberty Half Dollars". He thoroughly reviews every WLH date/MM and gives a great analysis of the specific rarity for each. Interesting to read and a great resource for the library.

Walkerfan

The Walker series is filled with strike rarities. The 1941-S, 1942-S, 1943-S, 1944-S & 1945-S come immediately to mind, when thinking of the short set alone. I would abandon the idea of finding full strikes for those issues. But rather, I'd work on finding coins with clean fields, good luster, full skirt lines and head and, for that left (right facing) branch hand, look for DECENT separation with EMERGING definition. JMO.

rokky

Here’s a date that is notorious for being weakly struck. I’d say mine is slightly better than average.
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1946Hamm

Here is my 42-S PCGS 65. It has a pretty nice strike.

winesteven

Does the maker of that YouTube video say “I Herz” because HE has no thumb?