1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,368,600 made
- Mintage
- 1,368,600
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 13.48 g
- Diameter
- 32.5 mm (lettered edge); 30 mm (reeded edge)
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,368,600 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper and holds 0.3868 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar?
- No mint mark. Struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1808 are scarcer?
- The 1807 at 750,500, the 1811 at 1,203,644, the 1813 at 1,241,903, plus 1 more. So the 1808 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar coins were made?
- 1,368,600.
What to check on your 1808
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the curls near the ear, the clasp at the shoulder and the eagle's neck and wings.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1808
Philadelphia made 1,368,600 in 1808, up from 750,500 in 1807. In 1809 the figure was 1.4 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1808 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1839 (1,392,976) and the 1809 (1,405,810).
Across Philadelphia's 33 Capped Bust Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1836, Reeded Edge with 1,200 made. The 1808 is on the scarcer side of the middle.
John Reich's half and the bank reserve years (1807 to 1814)
John Reich's Capped Bust half dollar replaced the Draped Bust in 1807, with 750,500 struck that year. First-year varieties include small stars, large stars, a 50 over 20 denomination and the so-called Bearded Liberty, named for a die break under the chin. Output then stayed above one million a year through 1814, reaching 1,628,059 in 1812.
Banks used half dollars as their main silver reserve, so many coins moved between bank vaults rather than through daily trade. That helps explain why survivors from these years are often found in Fine to Extremely Fine rather than worn smooth. Overdates such as 1808/7, 1812/1 and 1814/3 are well known. The 1813 reverse with 50 C. punched over UNI is popular with specialists who collect by die marriage.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1808
The Classic Head design by John Reich reached the large cent in 1808. Large cent output stayed modest for most of the following decade.
How to recognize it
John Reich's Liberty faces left in a cloth cap with a band inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by stars with the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with a shield on its breast and the value 50 C. (later 50 CENTS and HALF DOL.). Coins to 1836 have a lettered edge; later coins are reeded and slightly smaller. Hundreds of die marriages make this a favorite series for variety specialists.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Capped Bust Half Dollar (1807–1839) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,368,600 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 13.48 grams |
| Diameter | 32.5 mm (lettered edge); 30 mm (reeded edge) |
| Edge | Lettered to 1836, then reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3868 troy oz (12.030 g) |
| Designer | John Reich; reeded-edge version by Christian Gobrecht |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.