1927 Half Dollar Coin Value (Errors List, “S” Worth)

In 1927, as America celebrated its revolutionary heritage, the Philadelphia Mint fittingly struck the Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington. In that battle, untrained colonial militiamen defeated seasoned British and German troops, shocking Europe.

Today, collectors view the 1927 Vermont half dollar not just as commemorative silver but as a testament to American determination. Its limited mintage of just over 28,000 pieces, combined with Charles Keck’s distinctive design featuring Vermont founder Ira Allen, ensures it remains one of the rarer and more sought-after coins in the commemorative series.

 

1927 Half Dollar Value By Variety

This value chart shows the current market prices for the 1927-S Walking Liberty half dollar across different condition grades, from heavily worn Good condition specimens at $38 to pristine Mint State specimens valued at over $4,200.

Tip: Use our CoinValueChecker App for real-time variety identification and current market values.

 

1927 Half Dollar Market Trend

The 1927 Half Dollar’s market interest has experienced dramatic fluctuations over the past decade. The chart shows several sharp spikes in coin prices, particularly in the first half of 2017, when enthusiasm reached its peak. This dramatic surge likely represents speculative behavior rather than organic collector appreciation.

The sharp, concentrated nature of the peak suggests traders may have identified specific market opportunities—perhaps recognizing undervaluation in the Walking Liberty series or responding to broader precious metals momentum during that period.

Such discoveries often create sudden market interest as investors rush to capitalize on perceived scarcity before prices adjust. The intensity and brevity of the 2017 peak supports this theory, as genuine collector demand typically builds more gradually and sustains longer.

The subsequent crash reinforces this speculative interpretation—when the underlying fundamentals couldn’t support the inflated prices, the market corrected sharply, typical of speculative bubbles across collectible markets. As evident from the chart, collecting interest plummeted in the second half of 2017.

This sharp decline indicates that speculative enthusiasm could only temporarily inflate demand beyond sustainable levels. The subsequent recovery period of 2018-2019 saw renewed but more cautious market activity, suggesting that genuine collecting interest remained despite the earlier correction.

Since 2019, interest trends have shown remarkable stability, with gradually smoothing fluctuations that reflect a maturing collector base. These moderate undulations suggest the coin has found its natural market level, supported by collectors who value its numismatic merit rather than speculative potential.

The consistent baseline activity indicates solid fundamentals underlying the occasional peaks of renewed attention, positioning the 1927 Half Dollar strategically within the comprehensive US Coin Market Trend Ranking (Top 100).

 

History of the 1927 Half Dollar

The 1927 half dollar witnessed American monetary policy at the end of the “Roaring Twenties.” After experiencing a three-year production hiatus from 1924 to 1926, the U.S. Treasury Department decided to resume half-dollar coinage, but limited it to a single facility—a production model that broke from the Walking Liberty series’ traditional practice of multiple mints working together.

These coins all came from San Francisco’s “Granite Lady” mint, the legendary facility that survived the devastating 1906 earthquake. At that time, most of the surrounding buildings were flattened, but this mint miraculously remained standing. By 1927, this fortress-like building was no longer merely a production facility. It represented American continuity and strength in an era of rapid social change.

The 1927 silver coins were issued at a pivotal moment in American commerce, when silver coins still commanded greater trust than paper currency in many Western states. As the nation approached the dramatic economic upheaval of 1929, these half dollars would soon witness the end of the Jazz Age optimism.

The historical significance of the 1927 half dollar extends beyond its production circumstances—these coins represent the last hurrah of America’s confident prosperity of the 1920s before the Great Depression transformed the nation’s economic landscape. They carried Weinman’s inspiring vision of Liberty striding toward dawn at precisely the moment when America’s own dawn was facing its greatest test.

 

Is Your 1927 Half Dollar Rare?

The 1927-S Half Dollar achieves an impressive rarity score of 80, earning “Mythic” classification that places it at 17th position within the entire Walking Liberty Half Dollar series. This exceptional ranking reflects the coin’s scarcity factors that have compounded over nearly a century since its release.

The “Mythic” designation indicates survival rates typically below 1% of original mintage, with high-grade examples representing mere fractions of remaining specimens. This extreme scarcity stems from multiple converging factors: the coin’s single-mint production created immediate supply limitations, while the approaching Great Depression led to widespread melting and hoarding as silver prices fluctuated.

Additionally, the coin’s circulation during economically turbulent times meant many specimens were heavily worn or lost entirely.

Such a condition demonstrates how production anomalies and historical circumstances can elevate certain dates to extraordinary status within a series, making the comprehensive Walking Liberty Half Dollar Rarity Ranking (Top 100) an essential reference for collectors.

Collectors seeking to understand the complete landscape of Walking Liberty scarcity can explore detailed analysis using the CoinValueChecker App, which provides comprehensive rarity assessments and current market valuations.

 

Key Features Of The 1927 Half Dollar

The 1927 Walking Liberty Half Dollar showcases Adolph A. Weinman’s masterful design during a pivotal moment in the series’ history, representing the sole half dollar production after a three-year hiatus that left no coins struck from 1924 through 1926.

The Obverse of the 1927 Half Dollar

The 1927 Half Dollar obverse features Lady Liberty in her iconic striding pose, moving confidently toward the rising sun. Her right arm extends forward in a gesture of hope and determination, while her left hand carries intertwined branches of olive and oak—the olive symbolizing peace and the oak representing American strength and endurance.

The flowing folds of the American flag wrap gracefully around her figure, creating dramatic movement across the coin’s surface.

“LIBERTY” is inscribed along the upper rim in bold letters, with “IN GOD WE TRUST” positioned in the right field beside Liberty’s outstretched arm. The date “1927” appears at the bottom center of the design.

The Reverse of the 1927 Half Dollar

The reverse displays a majestic bald eagle perched on a rocky mountain crag with wings partially spread in a powerful stance. A mountain pine branch sprouts from the rocky formation beneath the eagle, symbolizing America’s natural resilience and growth.

“UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” curves along the upper rim, while “HALF DOLLAR” follows the bottom edge. The national motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM” appears in the left field beside the eagle.

The “S” mint mark is located below the pine branch, identifying this coin’s exclusive production at the San Francisco facility. Weinman’s designer initials “AW” are discretely placed below the eagle’s tail feathers.

Other Features of the 1927 Half Dollar

The 1927 Walking Liberty Half Dollar maintains the series’ standard specifications with a diameter of 30.6 mm, weight of 12.5 grams, and thickness of 2.15 mm. The composition consists of 90% silver and 10% copper, containing 11.25 grams of pure silver content.

The edge features reeding—vertical lines around the circumference that both prevented coin clipping and provided tactile identification in an era when silver coins formed the backbone of American commerce.

 

1927 Half Dollar Mintage & Survival Data

The 1927 Half Dollar Mintage & Survival Chart reveals a compelling tale of numerical scarcity. With 2,392,000 pieces originally struck exclusively at San Francisco, the coin represented a modest mintage even by 1920s standards.

However, the survival data reveals a stark reality: only 120,000 specimens remain in collectible condition today, yielding a mere 5.0167% survival rate.

Such a low survival rate reflects the precarious position of the 1927-S coins—while not the lowest mintage in the series, the approaching Great Depression led to widespread melting of these pieces, and few collectors had the resources to preserve specimens during the financial turmoil.

Compared to its contemporary the 1928-S, which achieved a slightly lower survival rate of 4.8969% under similar circumstances, the 1927-S demonstrates how even minor differences in timing and economic conditions can dramatically impact long-term availability.

This data positions the coin strategically within the comprehensive Walking Liberty Half Dollar Survival Ranking (Top 100), where such survival statistics separate genuinely rare specimens from merely scarce ones, revealing how silver half dollars that survived nearly a century of economic upheaval have become increasingly precious to collectors.

 

1927 Half Dollar Grading

Professional grading employs the internationally accepted Sheldon scale from 1 to 70, developed in the 1940s and adopted by major institutions as the industry standard.

The grading spectrum ranges from heavily circulated “Good” (G-4) where design details merge together, to “Very Fine” (VF-20 to VF-35) showing moderate wear but clear features, to “About Uncirculated” (AU-50 to AU-58) with slight high-point wear and remaining luster.

The most coveted Mint State grades (MS-60 to MS-70) showcase no wear, with MS-70 representing theoretical perfection—though no Walking Liberty half dollar has ever achieved this pinnacle.

Evaluating Walking Liberty half dollars presents unique challenges, as graders must distinguish between actual wear and inherent striking weaknesses—particularly examining Liberty’s left hand and branch stem on the obverse, plus the eagle’s breast and left leg on the reverse where metal flow typically proved deficient.

Especially for the 1927-S, contact marks in prime focal areas like the obverse field above “IN GOD WE TRUST” and the eagle’s breast significantly impact final grades, making high-condition survivors exceptionally valuable in today’s competitive market.

Collectors seeking to master these nuanced grading principles can access detailed guidance through comprehensive resources like How to Grade Walking Liberty Half Dollar.

The CoinValueChecker App provides instant grade estimation and current market valuations to support accurate assessment of these challenging but rewarding coins.

 

1927 Half Dollar Value Guides

1927 Half Dollar Varieties:

• 1927-S Half Dollar (San Francisco Mint)

The 1927 half dollar represents one of the most straightforward issues in the Walking Liberty series, with production limited exclusively to the San Francisco Mint. This single-variety approach resulted from the Treasury’s decision to resume half-dollar coinage after a three-year hiatus, concentrating all production at one facility.

 

1927-S Half Dollar Value

Unlike the problematic 1923-S and 1928-S coins, the San Francisco Mint excellently completed the minting of the 1927-S coins. Numismatic experts note that the 1927-S coins’ “striking quality doesn’t seem to be as bad,” with many specimens displaying distinctive frosty mint luster.

Although replicating Weinman’s high-relief design with the technical conditions of that era would cause severe striking defects in most San Francisco coins—few mints in the 1920s could perfectly align the key areas of a coin’s obverse and reverse. However, the mint did not abandon its efforts to solve this problem through technical innovation and exploration.

Mint superintendent Albert Joyce believed that better results could be achieved by “slightly lowering the relief, adjusting the force with which the mint’s presses struck the planchets or blanks, and better preparing the planchets for striking.”

Meanwhile, mint technicians also improved the silver coin preparation process, with the mint beginning to adopt enhanced annealing processes to soften the silver blanks, while press operators more precisely calibrated the striking pressure to accommodate Weinman’s complex relief patterns.

Through the joint efforts of all parties, the 1927-S benefited from more advanced dies and improved press adjustment techniques, allowing metal to flow better into Liberty’s left hand and the eagle’s breast feathers, thereby ensuring the quality of most coins.

The exquisite craftsmanship of the “Granite Lady” mint enabled its coins to retain exceptional detail, commanding high prices today.

Recent auction records also confirm this superior quality: in 2015, an MS-66 specimen sold for $44,650, while another gem-quality specimen sold for $25,200 in 2025, reflecting how improved striking techniques created truly scarce collectible specimens.