Proof Walking Liberty Half Dollar Market

CoinPhysicist

I don't really know much about proof walking liberty halves, I've been looking for the right Walker to complete a 20th century type set of half dollars for what is probably approaching 1 year now and I just can't find the 'right' 1921 philly coin (at the right price level). A lot of the low grade ones everywhere have issues. Anyways, somehow I stumbled upon proof walkers and they are really incredible coins, so I figured maybe I could expand my search into proofs to hold me over until I find the perfect 21. Probably easier to find the right proof than the right circulated, problem-free, philly 1921.

Proof walkers seems to all have relatively low mintages, but presumably survive in high fraction. I figured I would see if anyone had any words of wisdom here regarding proof walking liberty halves or thoughts on the strength of this (niche?) market, i.e. should I expect to pay premium for a nice one above price guides, or are they weaker these days?

And if someone was really feeling adventurous, I found a couple that I think are particularly nice and would be happy to have a short discussion about them through messages.

Justacommeman

Hola

If you are buying for type I would recommend a 1939 or 1940. Skinnier mintages then the 41 or 42. They also come spectacular.

Prices on nice proofs have come down over the past 5 years or so. That’s good for you. Over the top proofs are actually hard to find and still command premiums.

I like toned and white proofs. If I was only going to buy one it would probably be white with some cameo contrast. These are a joy to behold. I might also toy with the idea of buying one in an older holder. That’s the romantic in me.

I like 67’s for type but nice 66’s and 65’s are out there

mark

RogerB

There is a "Book-that-shall-not-be-Named-by-me" that covers all the 1936-42 proofs in detail. It will likely answer most of your questions...even the ones you don't presently have.

Justacommeman

@RogerB said:
There is a "Book-that-shall-not-be-Named-by-me" that covers all the 1936-42 proofs in detail. It will likely answer most of your questions...even the ones you don't presently have.

It’s not a cliff hanger but it is pretty pretty good.

m

Kkathyl

I picked up a great Book at the Hobby Lobby on these coins.
you are correct that these tend to stay in collections for long time but if you add it to your PCGS registry wish list they will
notify you when one becomes available.

Justacommeman

And here is a write up on RogerB's book.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2017/04/new-book-by-roger-burdette-covers-us-proof-coins-of-1936-to-1942.all.html

m

CoinPhysicist

Oooh cool. Is that the book that shall not be named? I really wasn't sure what book shall not be named. But that makes sense.

Kkathyl

I have to pick up that new one. Much more details

CoinPhysicist

@Justacommeman said:
Hola

If you are buying for type I would recommend a 1939 or 1940. Skinnier mintages then the 41 or 42. They also come spectacular.

Prices on nice proofs have come down over the past 5 years or so. That’s good for you. Over the top proofs are actually hard to find and still command premiums.

I like toned and white proofs. If I was only going to buy one it would probably be white with some cameo contrast. These are a joy to behold. I might also toy with the idea of buying one in an older holder. That’s the romantic in me.

I like 67’s for type but nice 66’s and 65’s are out there

mark

Thanks for the advice. A 67 is likely out of my budget. I'm looking at 66 and 65s mainly. And I definitely appreciate the slightly lower mintages of the pre 41s. 36 and 37 is out of the budget for this coin. Ideally I'll find a nice 38-40 in a 65 or 66 holder. I like them with a little bit of character, not overwhelming. I found a couple, but of course the ones I find tend to be what looks to be higher priced ones for the grades, surprisingly one of them isn't though - I wonder what I'm missing.

RogerB

@totally said:
Oooh cool. Is that the book that shall not be named? I really wasn't sure what book shall not be named. But that makes sense.

I got "squished" (kinda) for mentioning the title of a book I'd written in a post about Peace dollars. Decided to play it safe....

RogerB

Justacommeman -- Nice review. I had not seen it before....Thanks!

Azurescens

I'll be looking for one in a few weeks, and look forward to some good examples or suggestions.

I've always loved walkers and have tried through the years to build a set. I've got a lot going on right now building my business and really just want one nice sharp looking one.

I've had the walker itch since this really got going and snagged two nice circs while stocking up. I need a good one. I want one deserving of having to go buy a case for it. What were some good years?

JBN

@totally said:

@Justacommeman said:
Hola

If you are buying for type I would recommend a 1939 or 1940. Skinnier mintages then the 41 or 42. They also come spectacular.

Prices on nice proofs have come down over the past 5 years or so. That’s good for you. Over the top proofs are actually hard to find and still command premiums.

I like toned and white proofs. If I was only going to buy one it would probably be white with some cameo contrast. These are a joy to behold. I might also toy with the idea of buying one in an older holder. That’s the romantic in me.

I like 67’s for type but nice 66’s and 65’s are out there

mark

Thanks for the advice. A 67 is likely out of my budget. I'm looking at 66 and 65s mainly. And I definitely appreciate the slightly lower mintages of the pre 41s. 36 and 37 is out of the budget for this coin. Ideally I'll find a nice 38-40 in a 65 or 66 holder. I like them with a little bit of character, not overwhelming. I found a couple, but of course the ones I find tend to be what looks to be higher priced ones for the grades, surprisingly one of them isn't though - I wonder what I'm missing.

Looking at CoinFacts, your nice 38-40 in 65 or 66 appears to be in the 600-850 range. If 'a little bit of character, not overwhelming' means something like certs 15522586 or 06837094, you can search for the original skin and that appeal. Originality and eye appeal will ensure your example performs as well as possible, but note that proof WLHs are not going to be a strong $$$ performer for your collection at sale time. If you are more in cert 28151782 territory, be mindful of depth of field, as the coin may not be fully mint original. Reflective mirrored fields and great eye appeal should rule here. Same can be said for the area of cert 34598461 or 24503257 or 85776605, and there should be sufficient nice examples out there.

As for the issue date, your should gravitate to the earlier dates. My first reaction was to recommend buying the best 36 your budget can bear. However, the key is really out of reach in these cost ranges. For me, in your situation, I would do the 1937 in a 65 and nice. There is not a lot of spread to 66, also. Pops are not terribly lower as compared to the remaining 30s issues.

It is the easiest thing in the world to spend other people's money, but try to do a really nice gem 37. Cert 24031212 would be nice, but might be a push for your budget. Cert 26392991 is nice and probably closer on budget; Cert 15773318 is very nice, IMHO, but may not have sufficient character for your tastes/parameters. Any of the last three certs would be a stellar representation of this design.

I love these issues. To see an all original perfectly intact gorgeous proof of this stellar design is a great experience. Certs 25662072, 25616224, 25272314 are my collection's 30s issues. I cannot locate an acceptable 37. If you see cert 25511488, please let me know.

COCollector

Love my Proof Walkers! I've got two: 1940 PF66 and 1941 PF67 (No "AW"). Both CAC.

In my collection of about 100 Walkers, these Proofs are by far my favorites -- and the most expensive. Worth every penny to me.

KollectorKing

@COCollector said:
Love my Proof Walkers! I've got two: 1940 PF66 and 1941 PF67 (No "AW"). Both CAC.

In my collection of about 100 Walkers, these Proofs are by far my favorites -- and the most expensive. Worth every penny to me.

would love to see pics of the proof ones.

from coin facts

RogerB

In preparing the book, it was commonplace to find modern-graded coins with hairlines or other defects when in less than PR-65. Pieces graded a couple of decades ago seemed to be better; however, I did not go into grading very much. The whole subject seemed needlessly unstable.

CoinPhysicist

Wow @JBN That 1938, 25616224, is gorgeous. Way above my league for one of these though

That's approximately the price range I am looking at. I thought I had to write off '37 as being too expensive, but it looks like it might be possible to get lucky and find a nice '37. 15522586 or 06837094 are both coins that I would consider to be the look that I like on them.

In a perfect world, I would buy the best 36 I can afford, I definitely agree with that. But I'm not yet at a point in my life where I can do that for this coin.

I did look at 37's on ebay and there was a small number of them that were at the top or a little bit over the top of the budget. Perhaps at an auction house or something.

RogerB

There are many details to selecting the very best quality - and better does not necessarily mean greater cost. When you dig into the book, I think you will understand.

Justacommeman

Proof Walkers are indeed addictive. My set is in my sig line. I’m working on toned set and a cameoesque set. Happy hunting OP!

mark

CoinPhysicist

@Justacommeman said:
Proof Walkers are indeed addictive. My set is in my sig line. I’m working on toned set and a cameoesque set. Happy hunting OP!

mark

Wow that is quite the set. That 1940's rainbow is really something. Thanks! I'm just working on finding 1 coin to finish my 20th century half dollar type set right now.

Justacommeman

@totally said:

@Justacommeman said:
Proof Walkers are indeed addictive. My set is in my sig line. I’m working on toned set and a cameoesque set. Happy hunting OP!

mark

Wow that is quite the set. That 1940's rainbow is really something. Thanks! I'm just working on finding 1 coin to finish my 20th century half dollar type set right now.

My point would be to be picky. You can get a really really nice 65 or 66 and don’t settle.

m

davewesen

The people born these years are dying or dead. Demand has been dropping. I am not sure on your type set. are you putting into a book or keeping in slabs. If you keep looking at auctions, you should be able to get a decent PR65 for $400 or less during the next year. I would not want to crack and put into an album.

CoinPhysicist

I'm keeping them in slabs. @davewesen

PhilLynott

Love proof walkers. My only example so far is a white semi-cameo one. Would love to add one with nice color as well some beauties linked in the thread here.

COCollector

@KollectorKing said:

@COCollector said:
Love my Proof Walkers! I've got two: 1940 PF66 and 1941 PF67 (No "AW"). Both CAC.

In my collection of about 100 Walkers, these Proofs are by far my favorites -- and the most expensive. Worth every penny to me.

would love to see pics of the proof ones.

Best I can do with my cell camera and incandescent lamp light:

I won the 1941 for $550 ($707 total with premium, fees, tax, etc) online Heritage Auction. A little lower than I expected for a PR67 CAC... maybe because the auction photos show what looks like a deep nick on the obverse just above the sun. And it was hard to tell if the numerous scratches were on the slab or the coin. And not PCGS.

When I finally received the coin, I was thrilled after a close examination. Beautiful coin! The "nick" was actually ink from a marker pen; it easily cleaned off the slab with a little alcohol, which is why it doesn't show in my photos. And the slab has lots of scratches; the coin itself looks near-pristine.

If I ever have to sell it, I'd definitely want a fresh slab & good photos.

kiyote

Any questions, PM me.. I pretty much wrote the book on 1936-42 Us proof coins.

koynekwest

Love 'em! Here's my nicely toned 1939. I also have a 1941.

Justacommeman

Your 1939 is VERY nice!

m

mannie gray

Good advice in this thread.
I might also suggest you look for an older holder.
I have a killer 1939 with moderate cameo on both sides in a 66 rattler holder.
It would easily be a 7 today.
I did not pay a premium for it.
You will have to do some legwork though if you want to find the coin that fits your wants/budget.

MarkInDavis

To me proof coins are all about cameo. Now, you are probably not going to buy a proof walker graded cam or dcam - there are only a handful and you would pay a fortune. But look at a bunch and find one that is semi cameo or near cameo. Frosty devices and mirror fields. The near cameo coins will probably lack frost on the sun. There are many beautiful near cam coins out there without significant premium pricing. Just my personal preference. If you prefer toning look for that, but you’ll probably pay more. I like a coin that looks like it just left the mint.

ricko

@davewesen ...."The people born these years are dying or dead." Excuse me... I am neither dying nor dead, and I am very active... Cheers, RickO

davewesen

@ricko said:
@davewesen ...."The people born these years are dying or dead." Excuse me... I am neither dying nor dead, and I am very active... Cheers, RickO

I apologize, I meant 'many'. I also realize that people collect these that were not born then. I still feel prices are dropping with the exception of the truly exceptional.

ricko

@davewesen.... No apology needed....was just poking at you....some of us older guys just refuse to get old...Cheers, RickO

Bob13

While I don't necessarily want to imply that @ricko or others are dying or dead, I agree that there are a LOT of these coins available at the moment. A search on ebay, Heritage, GC, etc. will find a lot of Proof Walking Liberty Halves for sale. Admittedly most of these are 42s. A lot are also blast white, which is not my thing (unless you get some cameo effect) but to each his own. My point is: you can afford to be patient and picky. I would try to get one with some character, that stands out in some way - this doesn't necessarily mean very high grade, or a huge premium.

What I think is most difficult is trying to judge what these coins will look like in hand. You almost need multiple images to really get a sense of the surfaces, color, etc.

Here are two I own. The first I believe to have toning from the original mint cellophane packaging, and is a PCGS 65+.

The second has a bit more color and is a favorite!

davewesen

Wow Bob13, that colorful one is truly exceptional. Was it in a Bigelow holder?

Bob13

@davewesen - had to google what a Bigelow holder was/looked like. Short answer is I don't know. Was already slabbed when I bought it from Dave Kahn.