One Philadelphia example reached $120,000 at Stack's Bowers in June 2021. Yet most circulated examples trade for $20–$45. The difference lies in mint mark, strike quality, and condition — our free calculator breaks it down instantly.
Select your coin's mint mark, condition, and any errors to get an instant estimated value range.
Type a description of your coin below and our analyzer will flag the most relevant value factors.
Get your 1943 half dollar value in under 30 seconds — just pick a mint mark and condition.
The single most important — and most misunderstood — value factor for the 1943-S. A sharply struck example can be worth 3–7× a typical weakly struck coin of the same grade. Check your coin against the four diagnostic points below.
Liberty's left hand is absent or barely a suggestion of a curve. Skirt lines below Liberty's knee blend into a flat field. Eagle's breast feathers on the reverse are soft and lack separation. These describe the vast majority of 1943-S coins — even many graded MS-65.
Liberty's left hand is fully formed with visible finger separation on the oak and laurel branches. Skirt lines run clear from knee to foot. Eagle's breast feathers are individually distinct on the reverse. These examples are extremely scarce and command 300–700% premiums over standard guide prices.
Check each feature on your 1943-S coin:
For a thorough step-by-step in-depth 1943 half dollar identification guide, bookmark that reference alongside this chart — it covers die diagnostics and strike attribution in detail.
| Variety | Worn (G–F) | Circulated (VF–AU) | Uncirculated (MS-60–65) | Gem (MS-66+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943-P (Philadelphia) | $20 – $28 | $28 – $50 | $60 – $165 | $650 – $120,000+ |
| 1943-D (Denver) | $20 – $28 | $28 – $50 | $59 – $240 | $700 – $51,000+ |
| 1943-S (Sharp Strike) ★ | $22 – $30 | $30 – $55 | $500 – $2,000+ | $4,000 – $66,000+ |
| 1943-S (Typical Strike) | $20 – $28 | $27 – $45 | $60 – $220 | $500 – $10,000 |
| 1943-S Prooflike ⚠ Rarest | — | — | $2,050+ | $4,500+ |
| 1943-S Missing AW (FS-901) | $24 – $35 | $35 – $75 | $75 – $500 | $500 – $7,500 |
| Off-Center Strike (any mint) | $50 – $150 | $150 – $500 | $500 – $1,200+ | $1,200+ |
| Wrong Planchet Error | $15,000 – $21,000+ regardless of grade | |||
★ Sharp-strike premium applies to 1943-S only. Values based on PCGS, Greysheet, and recent Stack's Bowers / Heritage auction data.
📱 CoinHix makes it easy to snap a photo and get an instant estimated value on the go — a coin identifier and value app
Jump to the section you need most.
The 1943 Walking Liberty half dollar was produced at wartime production peaks, with rushed schedules and heavily used dies. That pressure created a range of collectible errors and varieties — from subtle missing initials to dramatic wrong-planchet rarities that command five-figure prices. Below are the most important varieties ranked by significance to collectors.
The San Francisco Mint suffered from chronic die pressure deficiency on all Walking Liberty halves produced from 1940 through 1944, and the 1943-S is one of the most severely affected dates in the entire series. The root cause was inadequate striking pressure that prevented silver from fully flowing into the deepest recesses of the obverse die, particularly around Liberty's left hand and the branch she holds.
On a typical weakly struck 1943-S, Liberty's left hand is entirely absent — replaced by a flat, featureless area where the knuckles and branch stems should appear. Skirt lines below the knee blend into a flat field, and the eagle's breast feathers on the reverse are similarly soft. PCGS explicitly states: "The left hand of Ms. Liberty is often so weak it cannot be seen at all." With a 10× loupe, look for any raised curve at lower center of Liberty's figure.
Sharply struck 1943-S half dollars are among the most prized late-date Walker varieties because they are genuinely scarce even within a certified grade. PCGS notes that premium-strike gems are "very scarce and definitely worth a premium price." CAC-verified sharp-strike examples routinely sell for 300–700% above standard price guide values. The MS-67+ auction record of $66,000 (Stack's Bowers, June 2021) reflects the scarcity of both high grade and strong strike occurring together.
A handful of 1943-S business strikes were produced from freshly polished dies — the same technique used for actual proof coinage — resulting in coins with deeply mirrored fields that closely resemble proof specimens. No official proof coins were struck in 1943 (the U.S. Mint suspended its proof program for the duration of World War II after 1942), making these prooflike examples the closest thing to a 1943 proof half dollar that exists.
The prooflike designation is awarded by PCGS and NGC when a business-strike coin shows mirror-like reflectivity in the open field areas of both the obverse and reverse, combined with frosted or semi-frosted devices. On the 1943-S PL, the open field to the right of Liberty (above "IN GOD WE TRUST") will show a clear reflection of your face when tilted under a light source — distinct from the satiny cartwheel luster of a typical Mint State coin. Approximately 13 examples have been certified by PCGS.
With only roughly 13 certified examples known, this is the single rarest collectible sub-type of the 1943 Walking Liberty half dollar series. Greysheet (CDN Publishing) lists the 1943-S PL at $2,050–$4,500, which likely understates strong demand when examples actually come to market. The finest known example graded PR-67 realized $9,000 at auction in 2006, and values for top-grade specimens have only grown since.
Designer Adolph Alexander Weinman placed his "AW" monogram on the reverse of the Walking Liberty half dollar, tucked discreetly into the eagle's right wing feathers near the lower rim. On a portion of 1943-S coins, these initials are missing — not because of a die hub error, but because mint personnel over-polished worn or clashed working dies during their service life. The polishing process, while intended to restore die surfaces, accidentally removed the shallow "AW" feature entirely.
To find the initials, look at the lower right of the reverse, inside the outermost feathers of the eagle's right wing just above the rim lettering. On a normal coin, the "AW" appears as a small, shallow monogram easily visible with a 5–10× loupe. On the Missing Initials variety, that area is completely smooth with no trace of the letters — no faint outlines, no partial letters, nothing. This is a different effect from a weakly struck coin where the initials might be present but faint.
PCGS formally recognizes this variety as FS-901 in its CoinFacts database, making it an attributable, catalogued variety rather than mere damage or die wear. While the premium in circulated grades is minimal ($5–$15 above standard prices), Greysheet lists the FS-901 range from $24 at the low end up to $7,500 in top Mint State condition. The variety can technically occur at any mint in 1943 but is most frequently identified and catalogued on San Francisco issues.
An off-center strike occurs when a blank planchet shifts out of the collar ring before the dies descend, resulting in part of the design being struck normally while the rest of the planchet remains blank. The blank area forms a characteristic crescent shape at the coin's edge, ranging from a few percent off-center (barely noticeable) to 50%+ off-center (where nearly half the coin is blank). With large silver half-dollar planchets, the visual impact is dramatic and immediately obvious.
The most desirable off-center 1943 half dollar errors show between 30% and 60% off-center displacement with the date still fully visible in the struck portion. A complete, legible "1943" date is critical to value — without a visible date, collector demand drops significantly. Strikes showing 50%+ off-center displacement are the most prized because they represent the most dramatic visual impact while still being clearly identifiable as a 1943 issue. These errors are impossible to fake by traditional coin alteration methods.
Values for 1943 off-center half dollar errors scale sharply with the severity of the displacement. Minor 10–15% off-center examples are the most commonly encountered and typically bring $75–$200. Moderate 25–40% strikes with a visible date command $300–$700. A comparable Walking Liberty off-center strike in the 55%+ range — a 1945-S — realized $41,125 at auction, illustrating the ceiling for truly dramatic examples. For 1943 issues, 50%+ off-center strikes with full date are estimated in the $1,000–$1,200+ range.
During World War II, the United States Mint produced coinage not only for American commerce but also for several allied nations — including Peru and El Salvador — as a wartime service. Foreign planchets for these contracts were prepared and stored at U.S. minting facilities, and a small number of those foreign blanks accidentally entered the half dollar production stream. The result: a coin that bears the full Walking Liberty design on both sides but is struck on a planchet of incorrect size, weight, and metallic composition.
Two distinct wrong-planchet types are documented for 1943 half dollars. The most famous is a 1943-S struck on a Peruvian ½ Sol planchet — only two examples are confirmed to exist. Because the Peruvian blank is physically smaller and composed of a different alloy, the finished coin is narrower than a standard half dollar with portions of the design running off the edge. A second error type exists struck on a Salvadoran 25-centavo planchet from the same production run of foreign coinage. Both types are listed among the Top 100 Most Valuable U.S. Coin Errors in major numismatic catalogues.
These errors represent the pinnacle of 1943 half dollar collecting. The 1943-S on Peruvian ½ Sol planchet — one of only two confirmed examples — sold for $20,000–$21,000 at documented auction. The El Salvador 25-centavo planchet error realized approximately $15,000 in its most recent auction appearance. Any coin suspected of being a wrong-planchet error must be weighed precisely (a Peruvian ½ Sol blank weighs approximately 12.50g of different alloy composition) and submitted to PCGS or NGC for authentication before any transaction.
Run it through the free calculator to get an instant value estimate for your specific mint, condition, and error combination.
Calculate My Error Coin's Value →
| Mint | Mint Mark | 1943 Mintage | Est. Surviving Examples | Strike Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | None | 53,190,000 | ~2,750,000 | Excellent — best in series |
| Denver | D | 11,346,000 | ~550,000 | Good — minor softness occasional |
| San Francisco | S | 13,450,000 | ~650,000 | Problematic — chronic weak strike |
| Total | — | 77,986,000 | ~3,950,000 | — |
Grade determines value more than any other factor. Here is how to assess each major condition tier.
🔎 CoinHix lets you compare your coin's surfaces against a library of graded examples for quick condition matching — a coin identifier and value app
Choosing the right venue for your coin can mean the difference of hundreds — or thousands — of dollars.
For any 1943 half dollar grading MS-65 or higher, a sharp-strike 1943-S, a prooflike example, or any major mint error, a major auction house is the right venue. Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers both have dedicated numismatic divisions with global bidder bases. Both houses achieve strong results for Walking Liberty halves — Stack's Bowers set the all-time record of $120,000 for the 1943-P MS-68+ in June 2021. Expect seller's fees of 10–15%. Submit well in advance — major sales are scheduled months ahead.
eBay reaches the broadest audience of collectors and is best suited for circulated and mid-grade uncirculated examples where values are $20–$300. Use the "Sold Listings" filter to research actual sold prices for 1943 Walking Liberty half dollars before listing. PCGS- or NGC-certified coins sell faster and at premiums compared to raw (ungraded) examples. Set a realistic reserve price; raw coins in circulated grades often sell near silver melt value.
A local coin dealer offers immediate cash payment — convenient but typically at wholesale (60–80% of retail). This is a reasonable option for common circulated examples where the numismatic premium above silver melt is modest. Bring multiple quotes: visit at least two dealers before accepting any offer. Dealers familiar with Walking Liberty halves will recognize strike quality differences on the 1943-S; an informed dealer may offer more for a sharp-strike example.
The Reddit coin communities offer a peer-to-peer marketplace with no listing fees, which can be advantageous for coins in the $50–$500 range. Buyers are knowledgeable collectors who appreciate detailed photos and accurate descriptions. Certification by PCGS or NGC is strongly recommended — ungraded claims about strike quality on 1943-S coins will be scrutinized heavily. Ship with insurance and tracking.