Woolley had the Commission of Fine Arts conduct a competition, as a result of which Weinman was selected to design the dime and half dollar.

Mint officials were successful in getting Weinman's design into production, although it never struck very well, which may have been a factor in its replacement by the Franklin half dollar beginning in 1948.

On September 26, 1890, the United States Congress passed an act providing: The Director of the Mint shall have power, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause new designs ... to be prepared and adopted ...

[6] On January 2, 1915, an interview with Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Adam M. Joyce appeared in the Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record: So far as I know ... there is no thought of issuing new coins of the 50-cent, 25-cent, and 10-cent values.

[14] The three sculptors submitted design sketches in mid-February, and on February 23 met with Woolley in New York City to make presentations of their work and answer his questions.

[18] Lange notes that "numerous delays were encountered as the artists fine-tuned their models while simultaneously avoiding obstacles thrown in their path by Barber.

[22] According to Secretary McAdoo in his 1916 annual report, The design of the half dollar bears a full-length figure of Liberty, the folds of the Stars and Stripes flying to the breeze as a background, progressing in full stride toward the dawn of a new day, carrying branches of laurel and oak, symbolical of civil and military glory.

The reverse of the half dollar shows an eagle perched high upon a mountain crag, his wings unfolded, fearless in spirit and conscious of his power.

[a] [24] Burdette ties both the appearance of the head of Liberty and of the branches which she carries to Baltimore's Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument, designed by Weinman.

[27] Though admiring the piece generally, he noted that Liberty is striding towards the east, that is towards war-torn Europe, and wrote "she points into the sky at nothing visible (perhaps aiming a warning at German warplanes?)".

[27] Art historian Cornelius Vermeule wrote that the Walking Liberty half dollar "really treat[s] the obverse and reverse as a surface sculptural ensemble.

"[28] Vermeule noted the resemblance of the half dollar to Roty's "Sower" but states that Weinman's piece "is an original creation, not a slavish copy".

[28] On the reverse, Vermeule admired the eagle, which dominates but does not overwhelm the design, and stated that the bird's feathers are "a marvelous tour de force", showing the influence of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, under whom Weinman studied.

Other visits followed, and on March 29, Woolley wrote to Superintendent Joyce "confidentially, the sculptors designing the new coins felt that on their last trip Mr. Morgan was much more cordial and cooperative than Mr. Barber was.

[20] During June, the Mint's engraving department, headed by Barber, reduced the models to coin-sized hubs and prepared dies for experimental pattern coins, which were subsequently struck.

Woolley hoped to begin production of the new coins of all three denominations by July 1, but the grant of time to Weinman required the Mint to act with greater speed.

When Woolley resigned on July 15 to become director of publicity for Woodrow Wilson's reelection campaign (a function he also fulfilled for Democratic nominees in 1912 and 1920), he mentioned in his resignation letter to Secretary McAdoo (Wilson's son-in-law), "in working over the model for the obverse side of the half dollar Mr. Weinman is making a slight rearrangement of the word 'Liberty', and will have it ready for your inspection in a few days.

On the original pattern, "United States of America" is at the top of the reverse, with "Half Dollar" directly below and "E Pluribus Unum" at the bottom of the coin.

On September 6, von Engelken wrote to Assistant Secretary Malburn, using information that Burdette suggests came from Barber: I am sending you with this letter ten of the new dimes and one of the new half dollars.

The Secretary enquired how long it would take "our Mr. Barber" to produce new designs; after consultation with officials at the Philadelphia Mint, von Engelken replied that it would take six to eight months.

[43] On October 18, Weinman wrote to Joyce, asking how the Mint was getting on with the dies for the half dollar and dime, and expressing his willingness to come to Philadelphia.

[44] In late December Weinman, who had received no update from the Mint since being told of the Barber modifications, but who had read in the newspapers that the half dollars were being struck, sent a $10 money order to Joyce with a request for 20 of the new coins.

[44] Although the dime's debut on October 30, 1916 had seen considerable publicity, the Mint had little comment on the release of the half dollar and Standing Liberty quarter the following January.

There were few newspaper mentions of the new half dollar; the United States was moving towards war with Germany, and the dime release had exhausted much of the public interest in the novelty of new coins.

She carries a load of firewood in one arm and wears a large napkin around her neck which leads to the belief that she left a small child at the house.

At that time, Von Engelken had resigned pending appointment to the post of president of the Federal Land Bank for the Third District; once he left to take that position, he was succeeded by Raymond T. Baker.

In April Joyce asked Baker for written confirmation of von Engelken's order, and after he obliged, the mint mark was duly moved.

According to Breen, Mint authorities knew well that the Weinman design, despite its great artistic merit, no matter how thorough Barber's original attempt to reduce relief, was technically unsatisfactory.

[50] In 1947, Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross asked Engraver Sinnock to produce a design for a half dollar featuring Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

Although Sinnock died before the coin was issued, the Franklin half dollar went into production at the start of 1948, ending the Walking Liberty series.