WALKING LIBERTY HALF ON STEEL CENT PLANCHET

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 1, 2026, Article 18

An article by Stack's Bowers US Coin Buyer & Consignment Director Christopher Maisano alerted me to a very interesting error coin from the Dean Oakes Family Collection, offered in their February 2026 Showcase Auction. Here's the catalog description. -Editor

Undated (1943) Walking Liberty Half Dollar. Struck on a Zinc-Coated Steel Cent Planchet. MS-62 (PCGS).

2.80 grams. An exciting offering for advanced Mint error enthusiasts, this is only the third confirmed example of a Walking Liberty half dollar struck on a steel cent planchet. In fact, wrong planchet errors in the Walking Liberty half dollar series of 1916 to 1947 are exceedingly rare, and regardless of the planchet involved. The most "common" of these are struck on quarter planchets, of which there are only 10 to 12 known as reported by Nicolas P. Brown, David J. Camire and Fred Weinberg in the 2010 reference 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins, although more modern scholarship by Saul Teichman has confirmed at least 15 specimens. Brown, Camire and Weinberg go on to write:

...other wrong-planchet strikes for this series are extremely rare: one is known on a nickel planchet (ex 1974 Bolt collection), two on dime planchets, and two on foreign-coin planchets. Surprisingly, none are known on copper cent planchets, but two are known on 1943 steel cent planchets, the one listed here being the finer. (The other coin, from the famous Milt Cohen collection, which was sold in 1981, is struck 25% off center at 5:00, and no date is visible.)

The Dean Oakes Family specimen is distinct from the two coins reported by Brown et al., bringing the census of Walking Liberty half dollars stuck on steel planchets up to three:

1 - PCGS MS-64. Ex Fred Weinberg; Heritage's sale of the Geyer Family Collection, November 2013 New York Signature Auction, lot 3790; Heritage's Chicago ANA Signature Auction of August 2015, lot 4144. Plated in both the 2009 reference World's Greatest Mint Errors by Mike Byers and the 2010 reference 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins by Brown et al., pp. 203 and 17, respectively.

3 - NGC EF-45. Struck 25% Off Center. Ex Milt Cohen Collection, 1981; later, Heritage's December 2022 Misfits Collection of U.S. Error Coinage, Part II Showcase Auction, lot 93188.

Far finer than the Milt Cohen coin in terms of strike and surface preservation, the Dean Oakes Family specimen is every bit as appealing visually as the Weinberg-Geyer Family coin. The impression on both sides is well centered on the planchet, Liberty's portrait and the eagle complete except for the peripheral features, which are beyond the flan. The words IN and WE in the motto on the obverse are full, as are the letters URIBUS in PLURIBUS and M in UNUM on the reverse. The word LIBERTY, legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, date and mintmark areas are beyond the planchet, although this error was almost certainly struck in 1943 since nearly all zinc-coated steel planchets bear that date (the only exceptions are the similarly rare and famous 1944 steel cent errors). Those design elements that are present are sharply struck and crisp. The otherwise warm pewter gray surfaces reveal tinges of pale pink and gold iridescence when observed with the aid of direct lighting. No significant handling marks are seen, but close inspection with a loupe reveals light carbon and associated micropittng in the planchet that account for the MS-62 grade from PCGS. Given how dramatic the error is, as well as the lack of sizeable blemishes, the eye appeal is strong, the in-hand appearance stunning.