1928 Half Dollar Value Checker: Errors List & “S” Mint Mark Worth

1928 Half Dollar value ranges from $0.50 face value to $31,200. That record price was achieved by a Grade 66 example sold through Heritage Auctions in May 2025. Upload a photo of yours below and we’ll give you a quick value range based on condition. Scroll down to see what 1928 Half Dollars are actually selling for on eBay right now.

 

1928 Half Dollar Value By Variety

Here’s what the 1928-S Half Dollar is worth across different grades. If you already know your coin’s grade, jump to the **Value Guides** section for exact pricing.

Also Read: Top 100 Most Valuable Kennedy Half Dollar Worth Money (1964 – Present)

 

Top 10 Most Valuable 1928 Half Dollar Value: Auction Records and Price History

The coin sitting at #1 is a PCGS MS66 that sold for $31,200 at Heritage Auctions on May 4, 2025. It knocked off the previous champ — a PCGS MS66+ CAC from “The Ally Collection” — which Heritage sold for $28,800 back in January 2018. That coin had distinctive orange and violet toning that made it instantly recognizable every time it crossed the auction block.

Named collections pop up throughout this top-10 list. “The Steven L. Duckor Collection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars,” offered by Heritage Auctions on January 4, 2018, included a PCGS MS65+ CAC that brought $20,400. Stack’s Bowers’ “George Gardner Collection” auction in November 2013 yielded $15,275 for an NGC MS66. Even a circulated AU-grade piece pulled $3,162 at a David Lawrence Rare Coin auction. The jump from MS64 to MS65 — roughly $6,500 to over $10,000 — tells you just how scarce nice examples really are.

 

1928 Half Dollar Value History: The San Francisco Story

The 1928 Half Dollar landed right at the peak of the Roaring Twenties. One year later, the stock market crashed. That timing matters — these coins represent the last gasp of pre-Depression optimism in American coinage.

San Francisco handled the entire year’s half dollar production by itself. Philadelphia and Denver struck zero. That alone makes the 1928-S unusual, but the real story is the design’s built-in production headache.

Adolph Weinman — a German-born sculptor who trained under Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French — won the design competition in 1915 after Mint Director Robert W. Woolley called for new coinage. There was some internal debate about whether Chief Engraver Charles Barber should get the job instead, but Weinman’s Walking Liberty won out.

The design looked stunning. Art historian Cornelius Vermeule called it one of the most beautiful coins ever struck in the United States. The problem? The high points on the obverse and reverse sit directly opposite each other on the planchet. A strong strike on one side usually meant a weak strike on the other. The Mint tried redesigns in 1918 and again in the 1930s. Neither fixed it.

Numismatist Roger Burdette pointed out in his 2007 book *Renaissance of American Coinage* that Weinman’s design closely resembled French sculptor Oscar Roty’s famous “The Sower” — a common motif on French coins. That shared composition helps explain why both designs, despite their beauty, fight the same striking problems.

The Pittman Act of 1918 didn’t help either. It forced massive silver dollar output to replace silver purchased from Britain during World War I, pulling Mint resources away from half dollar production. Walking Liberty output through the 1920s was sporadic at best. San Francisco struck nearly 60% of all Walking Liberty Half Dollars during that decade.

Most 1928-S halves went straight into pocket change. Within months, the Depression hit. People spent these coins — they didn’t save them.

Also Read: Top 35 Most Valuable Franklin Half Dollar Worth Money (1948 – 1963)

 

Is Your 1928 Half Dollar Value Affected by Rarity?

Absolutely — and the rarity picture here is counterintuitive. The 1928-S isn’t particularly rare in lower circulated grades. You can find a VG or Fine example without too much trouble. But try finding one in MS65 or better, and you’re chasing one of the toughest coins in the entire Walking Liberty series.

PCGS CoinFacts notes that “strike can be a real problem with this issue” and that even a “decent strike is very rare.” That’s a pretty damning assessment. The 1928-S ranks rarer than the 1927-S in gem condition but falls just short of the famous 1923-S.

You can dig into detailed survival stats and compare across the full series using the Coin Identifier and Value App.

 

1928 Half Dollar Value: Key Features and Design Details

The 1928-S showcases Weinman’s Walking Liberty design during its worst period for strike quality. That combination of artistic beauty and production difficulty is exactly what makes high-grade survivors so valuable.

Here’s something many collectors don’t realize: there’s no official “Full Strike” designation from PCGS or NGC for Walking Liberty Half Dollars. Compare that to Full Steps on Jefferson Nickels, Full Bands on Mercury Dimes, or Full Bell Lines on Franklin Half Dollars. Strike quality on Walkers gets baked into the grade itself — but a visibly sharp strike still pulls real premiums beyond what the number on the slab suggests.

A 2025 quantitative strike analysis published in the Greysheet by researcher Glenn A. Jones confirmed that even on the most “well-struck” Walking Liberty dates, only about 5% of certified MS65+ coins can be considered truly fully struck on both Liberty’s head and her outstretched hand. For the notoriously weak-struck 1928-S, that percentage is thought to be far lower.

The Obverse of the 1928 Half Dollar

Liberty strides confidently toward the rising sun, right arm extended in welcome, her flowing gown and draped American flag creating dramatic movement. On the 1928-S, this is where striking weakness shows up most.

“LIBERTY” curves along the left border, with Liberty’s figure deliberately overlapping portions of the lettering — Weinman wanted the allegorical figure front and center. She carries laurel and oak branches in her left arm, representing civil and military glory.

“IN GOD WE TRUST” appears above Liberty’s trailing foot, and the date “1928” sits below her striding form. Here’s the spot to check: look at Liberty’s outstretched right hand. On most 1928-S examples, the fingers mush together from weak striking pressure. A coin showing clear separation of individual fingers? That’s a cherrypicker’s dream.

Weinman’s design bears a notable resemblance to The Sower by French sculptor Oscar Roty — a similarity that numismatic historian Roger Burdette addressed in his 2007 book, noting that while Weinman did not directly copy Roty’s work, he drew significant artistic inspiration from it.

The Reverse of the 1928 Half Dollar

Flip it over and you’ll see a bald eagle perched on a rocky crag, wings half-spread like it’s about to launch. A small mountain pine sapling grows from the rock beside the eagle — a nice compositional touch that gives the reverse real depth.

“UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” arcs along the upper rim, with “E PLURIBUS UNUM” to the left of the eagle and “HALF DOLLAR” across the bottom. Weinman’s initials “AW” sit beneath the eagle’s right wing, though they’re often faint on circulated pieces.

Look for the “S” mintmark at the lower left of the reverse, roughly the 7:30 position. The mint mark was moved from the obverse to the reverse for all 1917 and later dates, following a February 14, 1917 order from Mint Director von Engelken, who felt the obverse placement looked like a die defect.

Now look at the eagle’s central breast feathers and legs. They sit directly opposite the obverse high points, so they’re almost always the weakest area on 1928-S coins. A piece showing clear, individual breast feather detail is among the most prized in the entire series.

Other Features of the 1928 Half Dollar

The 1928-S carries standard Walking Liberty specs: 90% silver and 10% copper, 12.5 grams, 30.6 millimeters in diameter. That works out to 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver, giving the coin a melt value of approximately $22.51 based on recent silver spot prices near $62 per ounce.

The edge is reeded — those vertical lines running around the circumference prevented silver clipping and helped with tactile identification. Same spec used throughout the entire 1916–1947 series.

Also Read: Top 60+ Most Valuable Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916 -1947)

 

1928 Half Dollar Value: Mintage and Survival Data

Total mintage: 1,940,000 pieces. That’s one of the lowest in the entire Walking Liberty series. Philadelphia and Denver struck no half dollars at all in 1928 — San Francisco carried the whole year solo.

About 95,000 coins survive in collectible condition, a survival rate of approximately 4.9%. That sounds reasonable until you realize the vast majority are heavily worn lower-grade pieces. Think of it this way: out of nearly two million coins struck, only 15 have ever graded MS66 at PCGS. One single coin sits at MS66+.

The Depression did its damage. People spent these coins to survive, and the few collectors who might have tucked away uncirculated examples faced a decade of hardship that made coin collecting a luxury nobody could afford.

Also Read: What Half Dollars Are Worth Money?

 

The Easy Way to Know Your 1928 Half Dollar Value

Start by confirming the “S” mintmark on the reverse at the 7:30 position. Every 1928 half dollar came from San Francisco — there’s no Philadelphia or Denver version.

Next, check the two make-or-break areas for strike quality: Liberty’s outstretched right hand on the obverse and the eagle’s breast feathers on the reverse. Even a coin slabbed MS63 or MS64 with unusually sharp finger separation and defined breast feathers can outperform a mushy-struck example in the same grade.

The price spread is dramatic. Heavily worn pieces sit around $25 in silver value. Fine-grade coins average $275. AU specimens reach $1,591. Mint state examples command $9,150 or more. Well-struck MS65 coins have sold for $4,500 to $11,000, and the MS66 auction record stands at $31,200 from Heritage Auctions in May 2025.

For a quick preliminary grade and value estimate, try the Coin Identifier and Value App — it gives you current market pricing based on your coin’s specific condition and strike characteristics.

 

1928 Half Dollar Value Guides

The 1928-S is a key date thanks to low mintage and brutal striking issues. Even worn examples trade well above melt. Well-struck specimens sometimes outprice higher-graded coins with soft strikes.

 

1928-S Half Dollar Value

How many mints struck half dollars in 1928? Just one. San Francisco produced all 1,940,000 pieces — the entire national output for the year.

What makes the 1928-S so tough in high grades is a perfect storm of bad luck. The coins hit circulation right as the Depression was starting, so almost nobody saved them. San Francisco’s strike quality during this period was notoriously poor, with most coins showing flat detail on Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s breast feathers. I think this is one of the most underappreciated key dates in the series.

The result? Only 15 coins have been certified MS66 by PCGS. The current auction record of $31,200 (Heritage Auctions, May 4, 2025, PCGS MS66) topped the previous record of $28,800 set in January 2018, also at Heritage Auctions, for the single PCGS MS66+ CAC coin known — a piece with distinctive all-over orange and violet toning from “The Ally Collection.”

Here’s the grade-by-grade breakdown: around $25 in Good-4, approximately $60 in Fine-12, about $175 in VF-20, and $350 at the XF-40 threshold. Mint State starts above $2,200 at MS60, climbs to approximately $4,500 in MS63, $6,500 to $11,000 in MS65, and $20,000 or more in MS66.

The auction record chart below tracks the substantial premiums associated with higher grade examples of this date.

Current market activity indicates continued and growing collector interest in this San Francisco half dollar.

Also Read: Rare Half Dollar Coins to Look For

 

Rare 1928 Half Dollar Value Errors and Varieties

Errors on the 1928-S are genuinely scarce. Low mintage, 90% silver planchets, and the fact that most error coins from this era got spent and lost to circulation all work against you. But several documented error types exist, and they can add real money to the right coin.

1. Large “S” and Small “S” Mintmark Varieties

San Francisco used two different mintmark punches in 1928. The standard “Small S” (MMS-002) had been in use since 1917. When dies wore out, they got re-punched with an older-style tool similar to 19th-century Barber Quarter marks, creating the larger “S” variety.

Both varieties are accessible and neither pulls a big premium over the other. Specialists building variety sets may want both, but for most collectors, grade and strike quality matter far more than which punch was used.

2. Lamination Errors

These happen when gas oxides or impurities get trapped in the metal strip during rolling, causing the coin’s surface to peel, flake, or split after striking. On a 90% silver planchet like the 1928-S, they’re notably rare.

Look for areas where the surface appears to be lifting, separating, or showing depressions that don’t match normal wear patterns. Minor lamination errors on Walking Liberty Half Dollars typically add $20–$75 in premium. Dramatic examples with significant surface separation can reach $100–$200 or more.

3. Die Scratches and Die Cracks

Here’s the quick way to tell die scratches from post-mint damage: die scratches are *raised* lines on the coin’s surface because the scratch was cut into the die. Every coin struck from that die shows the same raised line in the same spot. Post-mint scratches are incused — pressed down into the metal. Big difference.

Die cracks show up as raised, irregular lines, often following design contours. Minor die scratches add $15–$50 in premium. Dramatic cracks running through major design elements can bring $75–$150 or more on choice pieces.

4. Off-Center Strikes and Clipped Planchets

Off-center strikes leave a blank crescent where the die missed the planchet. Clipped planchets show a curved or straight chunk missing from the edge — the result of a cutting-press malfunction.

Both error types are documented across the Walking Liberty series but are extremely rare on 1928-S examples specifically. Significant off-center or clipped planchet errors on 1920s San Francisco issues can bring hundreds to over a thousand dollars depending on severity.

5. Wrong Planchet Errors

This is the holy grail of Walker errors. Numismatic researcher Saul Teichman documented only approximately 14 examples of Walking Liberty Half Dollars struck on quarter planchets across the entire 1916–1947 series.

Any confirmed 1928-S on a wrong planchet would be worth thousands. If your coin feels unusually lightweight or looks small in diameter, get it authenticated immediately by PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) or NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company).

 

Where to Sell Your 1928 Half Dollar for Top Value

For circulated examples worth $100 or less, eBay or direct dealer offers are your most efficient options. For anything grading AU58 or better, consider consigning to Heritage Auctions, Stack’s Bowers Galleries, or Legend Rare Coin Auctions — all three have recent sales records with this exact issue.

Getting your coin slabbed by PCGS or NGC before selling makes strong financial sense for anything you think might grade MS62 or higher. The certification fee pays for itself many times over at that level.

Check out now: Best Places To Sell Coins Online (Pros & Cons)

 

1928 Half Dollar Value Market Trend

*Market Trend Chart showing the number of people paying attention to this coin.

 

FAQ About the 1928 Half Dollar Value

1. What is the 1928 Half Dollar value range in circulated condition vs. mint state?

Circulated 1928 Half Dollars range from about $25 in heavily worn Good-4 up to roughly $1,000 in choice AU condition. Once you cross into Mint State — no wear at all on the high points — values jump hard. Even the lowest MS60 grade starts above $2,200, and the current auction record for MS66 is $31,200 (Heritage Auctions, May 2025).

2. Is the 1928-S Half Dollar a key date in the Walking Liberty series?

Yes. In gem condition (MS65+), the 1928-S ranks rarer than the 1927-S but not quite as elusive as the 1923-S. Its key date status comes from the combination of a low mintage of 1,940,000 pieces, notorious striking problems, and Depression-era neglect that prevented meaningful collector preservation.

3. Are there 1928 half dollars from Philadelphia or Denver?

No. Every 1928 Walking Liberty Half Dollar was struck at San Francisco. Any coin missing the “S” mintmark either has heavy wear obscuring it or has been altered. Anything presented as a “1928-P” or “1928-D” is either tampered with or counterfeit.

4. Why do most 1928-S half dollars have weak strikes?

Weinman’s design puts the highest obverse and reverse points directly opposite each other on the planchet — Liberty’s hand on the front, the eagle’s breast feathers on the back. Getting metal to flow fully into both die cavities simultaneously was more than the Mint’s presses could consistently handle. Redesigns in 1918 and the 1930s helped but never fully solved the problem.

5. What should I look for when evaluating a 1928-S half dollar?

Check two spots first: the definition of Liberty’s individual fingers on her outstretched right hand, and the separation of the eagle’s central breast feathers on the reverse. Also look for original toning with attractive color and strong underlying luster. Cleaned coins show unnatural brightness and hairlines that kill value regardless of technical grade.

6. What is the current silver melt value of a 1928-S Half Dollar?

The coin contains 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver (90% silver and 10% copper, total weight 12.5 grams), giving it a melt value of approximately $22.51 at current silver spot prices near $62 per ounce. Even the most beat-up examples shouldn’t sell below this floor.

7. What are the Large S and Small S mintmark varieties on the 1928-S?

San Francisco used two different mintmark punches on 1928 half dollar dies: the standard “Small S” (MMS-002), used from 1917 through 1942, and a larger punch used when worn dies were re-punched using an older-style tool similar to 19th-century Barber Quarter mint marks. Both are collectible but neither commands a significant premium — mainly of interest to variety set builders.

8. How many 1928-S Half Dollars have been graded MS65 or higher by PCGS?

Only 15 examples have reached MS66, with a single coin at MS66+. That’s why the price gap between MS65 and MS66 is enormous. MS65 examples sell in the $4,500–$11,000 range while MS66 coins have brought up to $31,200.

9. What is the all-time auction record for the 1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar?

The record is $31,200, achieved on May 4, 2025 at Heritage Auctions for a PCGS MS66 example. It beat the previous record of $28,800, set in January 2018 also at Heritage Auctions, for the single PCGS MS66+ CAC specimen — a coin with distinctive all-over orange and violet toning that had passed through several notable auctions going back to “The Ally Collection” sale in 2002.

10. Should I get my 1928-S Half Dollar professionally graded by PCGS or NGC?

If your coin looks AU58 or better, absolutely. The grading fee pays for itself many times over at MS62+, where the 1928-S trades above $2,000 slabbed versus significantly less raw. For circulated examples in VF or lower, grading costs may exceed the value gain. Start with the free Coin Identifier and Value App to get a preliminary assessment before spending on professional services.