half dollar

[noble]

hi could anyone tell me if this is a proper coin if so is it only worth half dollar

[idahotokens]

Yes, it is part of the Mint's 1986 Statue of Liberty Centennial set. The D mintmark on the obverse indicates that it was not part of the "proof" version of the set. The coin is copper-nickel, had mintage of 928,008 (which is pretty low), and does have a premium, based on condition. It was not intended to be a circulating coin, but is "legal tender".
John in the 208

[noble]

where abouts is the D mintmark please i can only see an S

[idahotokens]

The mintmark is under (to the left) of the T in Trust. Actually, now that I look closer, that looks like an S. If so, that indicates the coin was made as a proof, but if yours has been circulated, that condition is long gone. Mintage on the proof is much higher - 6.9+ million. It still would carry a premium.
John in the 208

[CoinHELP!]

It's true that the coin is worth 50 cents as money, and true that it's not silver, but if it was struck as a proof then it's still a proof. A proof is determined by specially prepared dies and has nothing to do with condition or grade of a coin. There's a few proofs that have obtained circulated grades by all top tier grading services.

Now for the real issue. The coin doesn't look like a proof in the images, but it appears to have an S mint mark, and that isn't correct- if it's actually a proof. It could have a P or D, but not an S. So, I wonder if it's just the image causing this to look like a "business" or "mint" strike coin?

Could you post better images?

[noble]

this is the best i can do to show the S mintmark

[CoinHELP!]

It's most certainly an S mint mark, but I am not convinced this is a proof strike coin. Even with circulation wear the reflectiveness and cameo of the design would still be apparent. I have owned several of these sets, and the proofs are deep cameo.

Here's some images for comparison.

[noble]

the coin has a copper colour round the edge as thought it has been silver or nickel plated

[Diver_Down]

Noble, you might want to rename your thread title - Ellis Island Commemorative Half or Statue of Liberty Commemorative Half. It will gain more views/interest. The mintmark is not in question. It was minted in San Francisco. San Fran only generated proofs for this series. Other commemorative series, i.e. Bicentennial sets, include a business strike 'S' mint coins and proof strike 'S' mint coins.

What you have is an impaired proof - a very heavily impaired proof. As CoinHelp indicated, Proof refers to the strike. No amount of circulation can take away the strike. Unfortunately, your coin will carry no numismatic premium over face value. There is more than an ample supply to meet collector's demands for this commemorative in the condition that is expected as released from the mint.

If you found it, nice job. If you paid for it, well...

[noble]

i found it so its ok