Options
Are there die characteristics to tell a 1921 Walker from a 1941, if only 1 digit is visible ?
thebeav
Posts: 3,770 ✭✭✭✭✭
Hello folks,
I've got a XXX1 Walker and I can be fairly certain it's a 1921.
Are there any identifiers that will tell me for sure?
Thank you for the help.
0
Comments
It is unlikely that a 1941 walker would have received enough wear in circulation to reach that level of wear. They were effectively gone from circulation by the late 1960's. The 1921s would have had an additional twenty years of use and would usually be found with heavy wear.
I'm gonna put all my 41 halfs in my pocket for a couple years and turn them into $50-$60 coins! Great idea!
Successful transactions here and ATS with: jwitten, Rob41281, bajjerfan, cucamongacoin, Jim F., physics-fan3.14, x2rider, Wahoo554, Weather11am, Relaxn, jimineez1, Ronyahski, Bliggity, SurfinxHI, McGrump (thru BAJJERFAN), ms71, Downtown1974, ad4400
There is a big difference between 1921 and 1941. Just post an image and we can tell you which it is. They changed the hub a second time in 1938 (first was 1918). The difference is the two nearly vertical rays of the sun touch the flag and are very strong on the 1938-47 coins. On the 1918-1937 coins (2nd hub) the rays are weak and do not reach the flag. there are other detail changes, like on the leaves and arm details.
Thanks Rick, photo added.......
So it is obviously 1941
The quick friendly sharing of information by people like @EagleEye is the main reason that I am here
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
“1941,” starring John Belushi!
I've always gone by the skirt lines too, they are weaker on the earlier coins-even in higher grades.
Great informational thread on Walkers. @EagleEye thanks for the info!
Tag: Diagnostic
Excellent information for Walker collectors.... and others. Cheers, RickO
On the 1918-1937 coins (2nd hub) the rays are weak and do not reach the flag.
I'd be extremely careful using this as a diagnostic. I don't know if Fox got this from Breen or somewhere else, but I've always been skeptical of it. Look at Coinfacts or images to compare.
There are plenty of examples of 1921 dated coins, along with the other earlier dates, where the central rays do touch the flag on better struck coins. The only year where the second ray from the right clearly and consistently does not touch is 1937, a one year redesign by Sinnock. This changed again in 1938.
A better diagnostic, I think, is the last full rays' proximity to the drapery.
Great observation.
I also see the ray stub that points east is another indicator.
Lance.
For the coin in question, the flag of the 2nd 1 is much more pronounced, as on a 1941, than it would be on a 1921.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I'm starting to think that my coin may be a 1931 !
Great info that why I love this place!
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
Looks like 21 to me
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
No if the rays touch the flag it can’t be a 1921. I’m sending all mine back to the tpg’s, as they must be altered.
41
“Flag”? That’s the thingy on the bottom of the 1, analogous to a “serif”? Didn’t know that term, thanks.
ECHO..echo..... Not my series but great info to tuck away. Never know when it might come in handy!
My War Nickels https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/nickels/jefferson-nickels-specialty-sets/jefferson-nickels-fs-basic-war-set-circulation-strikes-1942-1945/publishedset/94452
Great discussion! Thanks for the info, I've never bothered to look at the rays so I learned something today. Thankfully, the 1921 and the 21-D dies were made using the same obverse hub so they can usually be ID'ed w/o a date showing at all.
One day it would be great to get all the folks together to share information. For example I never needed to look at the reverse to ID a '94 or 93-S Morgan dollar. I still don't. However, about six years ago the top coin authenticator at a major TPGS told me about the tiny die scratch in the space between the eagle's leg on a 94-P. Apparently, just as the rays in the example above, everyone knew about it for decades - except for me. Since I never looked at the reverse of 1894 dollars to authenticate them, I had no idea that "diagnostic marker" even existed. Otherwise, I would have recorded it in the 1970's! Coin authentication is not difficult. Getting a group of identical coins together to look for hub "markers" that are on every coin is the hard part.
Today, we have the luxury of folks like Rick and the other members posting in this thread to do the job for us.
I'm going to start looking at the rays on all the dates in addition to the skirt lines.
There are other WL half hub changes, largely in the mid-1930s. Differences are minute and very difficult to discern on circulation coins. Here is just one example from the engraver's notebook: