1938 Half Dollar Error List with Pictures
A Walking Liberty half struck ten percent off-center sold for $10,575 in 2013. That coin was dated 1918, so it offers a historical comparison for 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar errors, not a 1938 auction result.
The seven reported categories below have estimated whole-coin values from $50 to $12,000. Denver coins need separate attention because the normal date-and-mint combination is scarcer.
Read on to compare the actual metal and design before applying a price from another example.
1. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Die Crack Error (Estimated Up to $200)
Raised lines near the eagle’s wings and outer letters are the areas named in the 1938 report. They may come from cracks in the die, the steel tool that stamps the design.
Silver enters a crack during striking and leaves a narrow ridge. That differs from a scratch cut into a finished coin.
The report does not map one exact route or identify the mint of a particular example. The locations are inspection areas, not a complete variety description.
A coin can have both scratches and raised cracks. Each line needs its own surface check before it is called mint-made.
Estimated Value
Minor cracks on circulated Philadelphia coins have an estimated whole-coin range of $50–$200. The year guide describes small-crack premiums of $25–$75, added to the normal coin value.
A clear line on an attractive coin can draw more interest than a faint one. The estimate concerns small cracks, not large broken-tool patches.
A Denver example needs its scarcer normal coin valued separately. Its higher base value should not be mistaken for a larger crack premium.
How to Identify
Turn the lamp around the back while following a line with a 10× magnifier. A genuine crack ridge rises from the struck metal instead of cutting below it.
Inspect the wings and letters without assuming every nearby line is an error. Material stuck on the surface can also look raised.
A scale and calipers check the original 12.50 grams and normal 30.6-millimeter diameter, allowing for wear. The edge should have ordinary ridges; an internal tool crack does not require edge damage.
The quickest distinction is a line rising continuously from the coin’s own surface, rather than a recessed scratch or separate deposit.
2. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Lamination Error (Estimated Up to $400)
A flap can lift from the surface when a weak layer inside the metal separates. That is lamination, a flaw in the blank rather than a mark made by a damaged stamping tool.
The 1938 sources report this category without fixing a face, location, or mint for one example. The separating layer is the key.
Walking Liberty halves contain 90% silver alloy. They do not have the bonded copper-core layers used for modern clad halves.
A scrape can resemble peeling at first glance. The distinction is natural separation inside the original alloy versus damage applied after the coin was struck.
Estimated Value
For circulated Philadelphia coins, estimate $60–$400 as the whole-coin value. A larger, clearly original separation can be more interesting than a minor surface peel.
The year guides discuss added premiums, but no sale of an identified 1938 lamination sets this range. It remains a comparison-based estimate.
Denver coins may already exceed part of the range because of their normal value. Corrosion or metal deliberately peeled by someone later does not create the same error premium.
How to Identify
Leave any flap where it sits. Through a 10× magnifier, inspect the boundary for a thin layer of original silver rather than a gouge with pushed-up metal.
A digital scale may show loss from the normal 12.50 grams if some material is gone. An attached peel can leave the weight nearly unchanged.
Calipers should show about 30.6 millimeters across intact parts, and the ridged edge needs checking for later cuts. Photograph the full date and mintmark before enlarging the affected area.
The useful first clue is a thin layer opening along a natural internal boundary. Color or a rough patch without that structure is not enough.
3. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Clipped Planchet Error (Estimated Up to $800)
A curved gap can begin when the blanking punch overlaps an earlier hole in the silver strip. A strip edge can instead leave a straighter missing section.
The incomplete blank then receives the coin’s design. Collectors call the error a clipped planchet, with planchet meaning the prepared metal blank.
The 1938 lists do not identify one example’s mint or measured loss. They describe a category that still needs examination of the actual coin.
A gap alone cannot prove the cause. A finished coin can be cut later, so the missing boundary must be read together with the surrounding struck design.
Estimated Value
Estimate $75–$800 for an authenticated clip on a circulated or modest unworn Philadelphia coin. The year guides place substantial clips around $300–$800.
A 1942-S rim clip graded ANACS MS62 sold for $81.90 including fees at Pristine in May 2025. That smaller error offers a recent same-series comparison.
It supports the affordable end without establishing a 1938 specimen. A Denver coin and a much larger missing section each need their own condition and mint comparison.
How to Identify
Study the clipped edge from the side with a 10× magnifier. Follow ordinary edge ridges to the gap and look for filing lines, new sharp burrs, or crushed metal.
Weigh against the unclipped standard of 12.50 grams. The reduction should make sense for the missing section and wear, not prove the clip by itself.
Calipers may still read about 30.6 millimeters across an intact direction. A diameter reduced all around can suggest trimming instead.
Weakness opposite the gap can add support but is not mandatory. Original struck detail flowing naturally toward an undisturbed missing boundary is the quickest persuasive check.
4. 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar Repunched Mintmark Error (Estimated Up to $1,500)
A trace of another D beside the Denver mintmark is the reported clue. It belongs below the branch at the lower left of the back, not in the date.
The mintmark punch could enter the stamping tool more than once in slightly different positions. An earlier fragment might then survive beside the final letter.
The year account names no certified example or fixed direction. A comparison must follow the actual repeated letter shape.
A thick D, dark stain, or edge pushed up by a blow is not enough. The extra piece should make sense as part of an earlier D.
Estimated Value
Estimate $150–$1,500 for an identified 1938-D from circulated through lower unworn grades. The scarce Denver coin already contributes value before its extra mintmark detail is considered.
A related 1939-D/D in PCGS MS64+ brought $1,292.50 at Kagin’s in September 2017. That was an established different-year variety in unworn condition.
The historical result provides context, not a sale record for the reported 1938-D/D. Both the mintmark evidence and the coin’s condition must support the comparison.
How to Identify
Locate the D below the branch at the lower left of the back. Compare it with a normal 1938-D under a 10× magnifier.
The extra mark should have the recognizable curve or stroke of another D, not merely add thickness. Inspect the smooth background for cuts or signs that a mintmark was added to a Philadelphia coin.
Normal measurements are 12.50 grams before wear and about 30.6 millimeters, checked with a scale and calipers, with a ridged edge. A nickel or dime cannot supply this half dollar’s mintmark reference.
Look for a recognizable piece of a second D that forms part of the original stamped surface.
5. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Doubled Die Obverse Error (Estimated Up to $2,500)
Liberty’s flag and clothing already contain many overlapping lines. A doubled front needs an additional design contour, not just a normal fold made brighter by light.
The year account reports minor Philadelphia and Denver examples without an exact location or catalog number. No particular letter can be assigned from that text alone.
A doubled die has repeated detail in the stamping tool before coins are made. Its coins can repeat that same extra shape.
Obverse means the front. Flat ledges caused by movement during one strike differ from the rounded extra design needed to identify a doubled-tool candidate.
Estimated Value
Estimate $75–$500 for minor identified doubling on typical Philadelphia coins and $150–$2,500 for Denver examples across worn through stronger unworn grades. These are comparisons, not named 1938 auction results.
A 1939-D FS-101 doubled front in NGC MS67+ sold for $2,160 at Stack’s Bowers in April 2025. It provides an exceptional unworn reference.
Its grade and recognized variety belong to that coin. They should not be transferred to an ordinary 1938 with a doubled-looking fold.
How to Identify
Choose a normal coin of the same mint and finish. View it beside the candidate under the same light, using a 10× magnifier to compare actual design shapes.
A repeatable rounded extra outline matters more than one wide letter. The report gives no fixed landmark, so do not borrow another year’s place to check.
Photograph both faces and the ridged edge. Use a scale and calipers against the original 12.50 grams and approximately 30.6 millimeters.
A low flat ledge beside reduced main detail suggests movement during striking. Look for an extra raised outline that matches a known coin from the same die.
6. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Broadstrike Error (Estimated Up to $7,000)
A broadstrike is wider because metal spread outward without normal restraint. The collar, a ring around the blank, normally limits expansion and forms the ridges on the edge.
If that ring does not work properly, the coin can develop a broad outline and abnormal edge. The complete designs should remain on the metal.
The 1938 report identifies no particular mint or certified specimen for this category. The actual shape must demonstrate the process.
A later flattened coin can widen too. Its crushed design and edge damage differ from a coin that expanded while receiving its original strike.
Estimated Value
Use a comparative $3,000–$7,000 range for authenticated lightly worn through unworn examples. A July 2025 specialist guide lists smaller broadstruck Walkers at $3,000 in XF/AU and $5,000 unworn.
For larger examples, that guide gives $4,000 and $7,000 at those levels. These are series estimates, not 1938 auction results.
Lower grades need adjustment. The figures also do not establish a documented Denver broadstrike simply because Denver made normal half dollars that year.
How to Identify
Measure several directions with calipers and record all of the results against the normal 30.6 millimeters. Then check that the whole intended design remains, even if expansion is uneven.
A scale should stay near the original 12.50 grams, allowing for wear. Spreading redistributes metal rather than removing it.
Use a 10× magnifier on the rim and edge to look for changes from normal collar-made ridges. Later hammering or squeezing often crushes existing detail and leaves pressure marks.
Size alone cannot settle it. First look for a complete design, metal spreading outward, and an edge without normal ridges from the collar.
7. 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Off-Center Strike Error (Estimated Up to $12,000)
Part of Liberty or the eagle can run off the edge while a blank arc remains elsewhere. Both faces must be read together to explain an off-center strike.
The blank sat partly outside the correct position when the tools closed. Some design missed the metal, leaving another area unstamped.
The 1938 lists give no certified example’s mint or direction. Percentages in general guides do not measure a specific documented coin.
You need a readable date to identify the year. The surviving designs must also fit the same shift, rather than one face simply having a wider border than the other.
Estimated Value
The comparative range is $500–$12,000, from modest reported shifts through especially attractive certified examples. The lower figures follow year-guide estimates.
A 1918 half struck ten percent off-center in PCGS MS65 sold for $10,575 at Heritage in April 2013. It shows how a strong unworn Walker can reach much higher prices.
That is a historical different-year sale. A worn 1938 does not receive its value simply because both strikes shifted the same percentage.
How to Identify
Keep the readable 1938 date in photographs of both faces. Look for original blank metal beside missing designs that fit the same displaced position.
If only one face shifts, inspect for a misaligned tool instead. A 10× magnifier helps reveal natural transitions rather than scraping or later flattening.
A scale checks against 12.50 grams, and calipers record the outline compared with the normal 30.6 millimeters. Edge ridges may be incomplete where the blank met the collar unevenly.
Do not assume Denver when the mintmark area was never struck. Corresponding design loss on both faces beside genuine unstamped metal is the quickest decisive check.
Conclusion
Estimated whole-coin values range from $50 to $12,000 under the conditions and mint assumptions described. Raised lines, peeling metal, repeated letter shapes, and displaced strikes each need different evidence.
Keep the scarcer Denver base value separate from any error premium. Record the date and mintmark with full photographs, then match the physical feature before applying a guide estimate or a sale from another year.