1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 6,634,000 made
- Mintage
- 6,634,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.5 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 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 Walking Liberty Half Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.3617 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 die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- No. 6.6 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1918 are scarcer?
- The 1921 at 246,000, the 1916 at 608,000, the 1919 at 962,000, plus 1 more. So the 1918 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 6,634,000.
What to check on your 1918
- 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.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check Liberty's left hand, the skirt lines over her leg and the eagle's breast. Fully struck hands and heads are unusual.
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. A full strike shows Liberty's left hand and the lines of her skirt clearly. Many dates, especially from branch mints, come weakly struck in those areas.
The story of the 1918
Philadelphia made 6,634,000 in 1918, down from 12 million in 1917. The next year it made 962,000 (1919).
1918-D came to 3.9 million and 1918-S came to 10 million, so neither mint's 1918 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Philadelphia struck the Walking Liberty Half Dollar in 20 issues between 1916 and 1947. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1921 (246,000). Within the 1910s it's 12th smallest of 14, between the 1917-S, Reverse Mint Mark (5.6 million) and the 1918-S (10 million).
Soft strikes and scarce postwar dates (1918 to 1929)
Mintages fell after World War I, reaching only 246,000 at Philadelphia, 208,000 at Denver and 548,000 at San Francisco in 1921. These three 1921 coins are the keys of the series. The 1921-D is the rarest. The 1919 issues from all three mints are also scarce, especially in better grades. Most survivors of these dates are well worn.
No halves were struck in 1922 or from 1924 to 1926. Only San Francisco struck them in 1923, 1927 and 1928. Weinman's design was hard to strike, so coins from these years often show flat centers on Liberty's head and left hand. Fully struck examples of the 1919-D, 1920-D and 1923-S are seldom seen. The 1929-D and 1929-S close the period with mintages near one and two million.
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
Adolph Weinman's design shows Liberty draped in the flag, striding toward the rising sun with branches of laurel and oak in her arm. The reverse shows an eagle perched on a rocky crag with a pine sapling growing beside it. On 1916 and some 1917 coins the mint mark is on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST; after that it is on the reverse at the lower left, near the rim.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916–1947) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 6,634,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.5 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3617 troy oz (11.250 g) |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
Other 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 6,634,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1918-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 3,853,040 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1918-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 10,282,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
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.