1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 11,072,000 made
- Mintage
- 11,072,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.25 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 mm
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 a 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.1808 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A full head on Liberty (FH)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter rare?
- Not by date: 11 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter?
- On the obverse, to the left of the date, beside Liberty's foot. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1918 are scarcer?
- The 1923-S at 1,360,000, the 1919-S at 1,836,000, the 1917-S, Type 1 at 1,952,000, plus 2 more. So the 1918-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 11,072,000.
What to check on your 1918-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1918-D (7.4 million made).
- Dates on early Standing Liberty quarters were raised and wore off easily. A clear, full date adds a great deal to a coin from these years.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Liberty's head is rarely fully struck; "Full Head" (FH) coins command big premiums. The date must be readable for a coin to be worth much.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1918-S
San Francisco made 11,072,000 in 1918, up from 5.6 million in 1917. In 1919 the figure was 1.8 million.
1918-D came to 7.4 million and 1918 came to 14 million, so neither mint's 1918 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Of the 12 Standing Liberty Quarters San Francisco struck between 1917 and 1930, none was made in bigger numbers. The scarcest San Francisco issue is the 1927-S at 396,000. Within the 1910s it's 10th smallest of 13, between the 1917, Type 1 (8.7 million) and the 1919 (11 million).
Raised dates and soft strikes (1918 to 1924)
The Type 2 design kept the date raised on a step at Liberty's feet, where it wore away in circulation. Many Standing Liberty quarters from these years now have partial or missing dates. The 1918/7-S overdate, made when a 1917 die was repunched with an 8, is the major variety of the series and shows a faint 7 inside the 8.
Mintages were large in 1918 and 1920, but amid the postwar slump the 1921 run fell to 1,916,000. No quarters were struck in 1922. San Francisco's 1923-S, with 1,360,000 made, is a key. Branch mint coins from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on Liberty's head, so a Full Head example of a 1919-D, 1920-D or 1923-S is far rarer than its mintage suggests.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1918
The Pittman Act authorized the melting of more than 270 million silver dollars, mostly to supply silver to Britain for use in India. No new dollars were struck that year.
How to recognize it
Liberty strides through a gateway with a shield raised in one hand and an olive branch in the other. The first coins of 1916 and 1917 show her bare-breasted; later coins cover her in chain mail. The reverse shows an eagle in flight. The date was raised on the step and wore away quickly until it was recessed in 1925. Collectors prize coins with a "full head" of fine detail.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Standing Liberty Quarter (1916–1930) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 11,072,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.25 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1808 troy oz (5.625 g) |
| Designer | Hermon A. MacNeil |
Other 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter | 14,240,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1918-D Standing Liberty Quarter | 7,380,800 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter | 11,072,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter 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.