1948 Half Dollar Patterns

About This Coin

An early issue within the Modern Patterns (1943 to Date) series — the 3rd of 15 years — the 1948 Half Dollar Patterns document the Mint's exploration of new designs for the fifty-cent piece during the early postwar period. By 1948, the Walking Liberty half dollar by Adolph Weinman had been in production for over three decades, and the Mint was considering changes that would lead to the Franklin half dollar's introduction later that year. These patterns tested various experimental designs exploring how the half dollar's artistic identity might evolve to reflect postwar confidence and optimism. The obverse and reverse feature experimental motifs evaluated by various U.S. Mint designers when the United States stood as the world's dominant economic and military power. Produced during the final era of silver circulating coinage — before the Coinage Act of 1965 would fundamentally alter American money — the 1948 patterns represent a transitional moment when the Mint was honoring earlier artistic traditions while exploring modernized approaches to coin design. For modern pattern collectors, the 1948 Half Dollar Patterns offer a window into the design deliberations accompanying one of the most significant denomination redesigns of the mid-twentieth century.