The United States Mint published product descriptions and images of the 2016-W Walking Liberty Centennial Gold Coin.
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Adolph A. Weinman’s original Walking Liberty designs for the silver half-dollar, the centennial .9999 fine gold coin launches at noon ET on Nov. 17.
Obverses depict a full-length figure of Liberty in full stride, enveloped in folds of the flag, with her right hand extended and branches of laurel and oak in her left. Inscriptions include LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and 2016. There is also a single letter of W to denote the coin’s production at the West Point Mint.
Reverses feature an American eagle rising from a mountaintop perch. Surrounding the design are inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, HALF DOLLAR and AW for Weinman’s initials. In addition, and unlike the original silver half-dollars, there are inscriptions of AU, 24K, 1/2 OZ. Its one-half ounce weight is symbolic of the coin’s denomination, as is its business strike.
The gold coin’s price is based on the U.S. Mint’s pricing schedule and will be made public one day before its release. Today, it would be $890 as gold is confidently between $1,250.00 and $1,299.99 an ounce.
As discussed earlier, the gold coin has a mintage of 70,000 and a household order limit of 3 coins.
More details are available on the coin’s product page, found here.
The half-dollar is the last of three gold pieces to celebrate popular designs introduced 100 years ago. The first two are renditions of the 1916 Mercury dime and the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter.
Product Schedule Update
The U.S. Mint on Tuesday also updated its schedule to show release dates for other upcoming products. The added dates include:
- Dec. 1 for the 30th Anniversary 2016-W Uncirculated American Silver Eagle;
- Dec. 5 for the 2016 Fort Moultrie Quarters Three-Coin Set;
- Dec. 8 for the 2016-P Fort Moultrie Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin; and
- Dec. 14 for the 2016 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set.
The Mint’s product schedule is located here.
Beautiful coin.
I am looking forward to hopefully getting (2). One thing I will say I think the designers could have improved on, on all 3 of this series of gold coins was to use a different script for the weight and AU (gold) content.
I know it’s a minor thing, but what was chosen is a bit too plain and modern and doesn’t fit into the look of these idyllic 100 year old coin designs.
Seems out of place to me.
Nice coin though!
After being so excited the actuality of these coins seems a let down, between the pricing, the crazy sale limits or non-limits & the mint profiteering on the spot price, leaves a bad taste. And where are are the unsold Mercury AU’s…? A of all3 in silver would have been nice, as with other recent issues the slow death of ‘real’ coin collecting may mean these are going to be a bullion coin in the future. I hope not as I am a buyer…..but @ $1,900 an oz with gold loitering around <$1,3oo is a tad steep. By the way… Read more »
I agree with Whistler that the last Mercs should be released. Maybe they’ll clean that up at the end of the year–one can hope. At least with this Walker they did it right and put the mint mark on the obverse where it was in 1916. But it is true that what was a pleasant hobby is turning into a bullion business, helped at least indirectly by the Mint. Here in Minnesota so many “precious metal” and “rare coin” dealers took advantage of a poorly informed public that the state passed a law to track most sales in “coin shops”.… Read more »
Richard –
I remember when the Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC called Minnesota “A breading ground for numismatic fraud” & the state had to pass a law to help protect consumers from such ripoffs like GovMint.com (an official distributor of Perth Mint Australia coins & others). All dealers in Minnesota or companies outside the state who do business with customers in Minnesota have to be registered as precious metals dealers with the state government. Sad situation!
-NumisDudeTX
Mike Unser-
Weinman’s initials on the reverse are not a W as stated in this article. It is his stylized A over a W.
-NumisDudeTX
Beautiful coin!
I am very pleased with the mintage and the household limits. This one will sell out!
Thank you for getting this one right.
Is it true: Us mint only can sell annual silver on that year? That mean this year surprised will be 2016 uncirculated burnished silver eagle , only one month lifetime for sales by Us mint!
I’m a bit confused as to the location of Weinman’s initial on both the half dollar and silver eagle. I know that with the silver eagle, the “W” is on the hem of Liberty’s garment. Obviously, John Mercanti did the reverse. On the half dollar, Weinman’s initial appears below the eagle’s feather and besides the mountain rock. I can’t discern his intitial on the half obverse like I can with the silver eagle. Perhaps my vision is losing it’s accuracy on fine details. Being over 60 does not help when it comes to vision.
I’ve said it before, unless the coin is specifically a bullion coin, they should use the traditional 90% gold composition when producing these special issues. It won’t change, however, as the mint seems determined to cater bullion dealers instead of collectors.
$205 for 24k Mercury = $2050 an ounce
$485 for 24k SLQ = $1940 an ounce
“$890” based on 1250-1300 spot = $1780 an ounce.
Gold is currently at $1302, so $890 guess may not be the launch price.
Even with a higher launch price the 24k HALF is cheaper per ounce than the DIME and QUARTER issue price.
Stuart – also being over 60, I sympathize! I expanded the image and Weinman’s initials are just above the “F” in HALF on the reverse.
That said, my only quibble is that I wish the Mint had kept his original monogram (an intertwined A W) in its original place near the eagle’s tail feathers. Now to decide if I can afford ~$900….
Stuart & Munzen –
Weinman’s monogram initials with a stylized A over a W are on this gold coin on the reverse just like the original silver coin of 1916 on the lower right at the bottom of the tailfeathers to the right of the letter “R” in the word “DOLLAR”
With gold going up over $1300 today it might be issued at $915 instead of $890. Hopefully not though!
-NumisDudeTX
I think depending on who wins this upcoming election will determine where gold, silver and interest rates go.
That is, IF, it’s decided on Tuesday. I think there is a good chance of a contested contest.
Here come the lawyers!
Of the 3 Centennial Gold I think this one is the best looking of them all! But this one is a bit over my budget. But for my wife it is “A LOT” over our budget. I’ve told her, “I’m not spending money, I’m just trading money for even better money.” 🙂
joera –
Good luck with that argument! I think I can guess who wins that one.
Jp –
I agree totally! I wish I was a lawyer in Washington DC – they always have tons of clients!
-NumisDudeTX
Joera and Seth,
I think you can win that argument Joera. Your not spending money, your saving or investing money into savings. It’s just not in a bank account (which gives you no return).
It’s all in how you approach it. Tell her it’s like buying a GOLDEN Savings Bond! ; )
Jp –
Smart! The “Golden Ticket” approach. Great strategy.
-NumisDudeTX
Predictions for gold rising to $1,400 after the election are not out of line. It will continue to be a bullish time for gold and as a result will make this coin more expensive at issue.
Little bit of a price break due to this weeks sell off. Maybe we will see this priced at $865.
Mike “Sold Out, Limited Edition” Mezack is already selling these on HSN in ANACS SP70 condition for $1799.99.
Christopher Williams –
I saw Mezack on HSN at 1am live coin show today & at 7pm live show & he said he had 178 of these ANACS graded coins & had already sold 45 of them & never once said they are a “pre-sale” coin. What a ripoff at $1799.95 plus S&H plus state sales tax if applicable!
-NumisDudeTX
Seth-
Mike “Sold Out, Limited Edition” Mezack” did state that.
I was like “What the heck!!!!”
Christopher Williams –
The US Mint really should tell Mezack to stop saying he has their new coins before they are even issued! I wish they would sue him. It is simply not fair to the naive beginners who buy from him & HSN.
Happy collecting!
-NumisDudeTX
Seth-
I am with you on that one!!!
Christopher
To all my fellow coin enthusiasts, it is so refreshing to see online comments that are insightful, upbeat and complimentary. I’ll now add my two cents and hope for the best. As far as eye catching, I do believe that the 2016 gold trio are better than expected examples of what the mint has released over the past few years. I, for one, thought that the 2014 Baseball and JFK coins were also better than expected, but we can probably all agree that some of their other releases are close to dreadful. Some of the awful recent items include the… Read more »