Walking Liberty gold mintage, order limits released
- Published: Oct 12, 2016, 11 AM
The 2016-W Walking Liberty Centennial gold half dollar will have a maximum mintage of 70,000 coins and a household ordering limit of three coins when it goes on sale from the U.S. Mint at noon Eastern Time Nov. 17.
The half-ounce .9999 fine gold half dollar is the third 24-karat gold coin to be issued in 2016 to mark the 100th anniversary of their 1916 introduction in .900 fine silver.
The product limit for the gold half dollar is the maximum number of three-coin sets collectors could assemble of the 2016 Centennial gold coins — 70,000 sets. The 2016-W Winged Liberty Head Centennial tenth-ounce gold dime’s maximum mintage was 125,000 coins and the Standing Liberty Centennial quarter-ounce gold quarter dollar’s maximum mintage was 100,000 coins when put on sale earlier this year.
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The initial issue price for the gold half dollar will be announced a few days before the official launch date. The issue price will be based on the Mint’s pricing grid for coins containing precious metals, which considers price trends and adds a premium. If the spot price of gold stays within the $1,250 to $1,299.99 range, the issue price for the half-ounce pure gold coin would be $890 per coin.
Tom Jurkowsky, director of the Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications, said Oct. 11 that production of the gold half dollar is complete, but the struck coins are still being packaged. Production began at the West Point Mint on Sept. 9.
Weinman’s masterpiece: 100 years of the Walking Liberty half dollar: In a time of war abroad, economic disruption at home and discord at the United States Mint, the Walking Liberty half dollar, which marks its centennial this year, was conceived. |
The Walking Liberty coin is the second gold half dollar issued by the Mint in two years, both issued under Treasury’s authority to issue certain gold coins without congressional approval. The first was the 1964-2014-W John F. Kennedy gold half dollar.
Gold half dollar specs
Like the gold Winged Liberty Head dime and Standing Liberty quarter dollar, the Walking Liberty gold half dollar is produced at the West Point Mint. The coin is produced with what the Mint refers to as a “business strike” finish. The planchets, received from Leach Garner, are burnished with steel media in a solution of mild detergent and surfactant to clean and brighten them before striking.
The coin is 27 millimeters in diameter and 2.2 millimeters thick. The planchets are struck twice with tonnage of 110 tons per strike on a Gräbener press, with the obverse die as the upper or hammer die and the reverse as the lower or anvil die.
The edge exhibits 135 standard-size reeds, the same as on the American Eagle half-ounce gold coins.
2016-W gold dime
When the U.S. Mint released the 2016-W Winged Liberty Head gold dime April 21, the household ordering limit was 10 coins and the price, $205 each. The product limit was exhausted the same day.
During initial order reconciliation in the month that followed, nearly 9,000 coins were returned to Mint inventory, from customer returns because of damage to the coin, packaging or other reasons, or coins that were never shipped because of expired credit cards or other problems encountered with successful order processing.
Mint officials have not decided whether to re-offer the coins or melt them.
Standing Liberty gold quarter dollar
The 2016-W Standing Liberty gold quarter dollar went on sale Sept. 8 at $485 per coin with a household ordering limit of one coin. The limit was lifted Sept. 21.
Through Oct. 10, the U.S. Mint reported sales at 78,591 of the coin's maximum 100,000 pieces. The gold quarter dollars are still available on the U.S. Mint’s website.
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