1917 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1917

The Standing Liberty quarter was redesigned to cover Liberty with chain mail. The mint mark on the Walking Liberty half dollar moved from the obverse to the reverse.

How many coins were made in 1917

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 501,020,614 coins dated 1917 across 20 issues. That is 44% more than in 1916 (347,639,473). In 1918 the figure rose to 538,061,588.

No earlier year on our list comes close: it was the largest output up to that point.

By mint: Philadelphia 337,995,814 (67%, up from 238,448,773), Denver 84,871,800 (17%, up from 57,108,200) and San Francisco 78,153,000 (16%, up from 52,082,500).

Those coins held about 21,276,617 troy ounces of pure silver.

1917 coins by denomination

Cents: 284,169,785 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Lincoln Wheat Cent, up 49% on 1916. The scarcest is the 1917-S (32,620,000) and the most plentiful the 1917 (196,429,785).

Nickels: 65,527,829 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Buffalo Nickel, down 26% on 1916. The scarcest is the 1917-S (4,193,000) and the most plentiful the 1917 (51,424,029).

Dimes: 91,962,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Mercury Dime, up 61% on 1916. The scarcest is the 1917-D (9,402,000) and the most plentiful the 1917 (55,230,000).

Quarters: 37,857,600 struck in 6 circulation issues of the Standing Liberty Quarter, up 352% on 1916. The scarcest is the 1917-D, Type 1 (1,509,200) and the most plentiful the 1917, Type 2 (13,880,000).

Half Dollars: 21,503,400 struck in 5 circulation issues of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, up 909% on 1916. The scarcest is the 1917-D, Obverse Mint Mark (765,400) and the most plentiful the 1917, Reverse Mint Mark (12,292,000).

Every 1917 circulation issue at a glance

• 1917-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Obverse Mint Mark: 765,400 struck, 7th lowest of 65 in the series, down from 1,014,400 in 1916.
• 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Obverse Mint Mark: 952,000 struck, 8th lowest of 65 in the series, up from 508,000 in 1916.
• 1917-D Standing Liberty Quarter, Type 1: 1,509,200 struck, 6th lowest of 37 in the series.
• 1917-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark: 1,940,000 struck, 18th lowest of 65 in the series, up from 1,014,400 in 1916.
• 1917-S Standing Liberty Quarter, Type 1: 1,952,000 struck, 14th lowest of 37 in the series.
• 1917-S Buffalo Nickel: 4,193,000 struck, 12th lowest of 64 in the series, down from 11,860,000 in 1916.
• 1917-S Standing Liberty Quarter, Type 2: 5,552,000 struck, more than 53% of the series' 37 issues.
• 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark: 5,554,000 struck, more than 59% of the series' 65 issues, up from 508,000 in 1916.
• 1917-D Standing Liberty Quarter, Type 2: 6,224,400 struck, more than 58% of the series' 37 issues.
• 1917 Standing Liberty Quarter, Type 1: 8,740,000 struck, more than 69% of the series' 37 issues, up from 52,000 in 1916.
• 1917-D Mercury Dime: 9,402,000 struck, 27th lowest of 77 in the series, up from 264,000 in 1916.
• 1917-D Buffalo Nickel: 9,910,800 struck, more than 54% of the series' 64 issues, down from 13,333,000 in 1916.

The 8 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Wheat Cent: VDB, new branch mints and wartime demand

Victor David Brenner's Lincoln cent was released on August 2, 1909, the centennial year of Lincoln's birth. Within days the Mint removed his initials, VDB, from the reverse after complaints that they were too prominent. San Francisco struck only 484,000 cents with the initials, creating the 1909-S VDB, the most famous key in the series. The 1909-S without initials is also scarce at 1.8 million.

Denver began striking cents in 1911. The 1914-D, with 1.2 million made, is another key and is often counterfeited by altering the date or adding a mint mark. Matte proofs were made from 1909 to 1916. Demand rose sharply with World War I. Output in 1917 passed 196 million in Philadelphia, a year that also includes a doubled die obverse. Survivors from this era are usually brown and worn, with full red coins scarce for the branch mints.

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Buffalo Nickel: Type 1, Type 2 and the wearing date

James Earle Fraser's Buffalo nickel was released in 1913. The first version, Type 1, showed the bison standing on a raised mound with FIVE CENTS on it. The words wore away quickly, so later in 1913 the Mint lowered the ground into a flat line with the denomination below it, creating Type 2. The 1913-S Type 2 is a key date with only 1.2 million made.

The raised date on the obverse also wore quickly, so many coins from this era have partial or missing dates. Other notable coins include the 1914/3 overdate, the 1914-D and 1915-S semi-keys and the rare 1916 doubled die obverse. Matte proofs were struck from 1913 to 1916. Survivors from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on the horn and the bison's head.

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Standing Liberty Quarter: The bare-breasted Type 1 and the 1917 change

Hermon A. MacNeil's Standing Liberty quarter was struck late in 1916 in a run of only 52,000 pieces and released in January 1917. Liberty steps through a gateway holding a shield and an olive branch with her right breast exposed. The eagle on the reverse flies with no stars beneath it. The 1916 is the key of the series and a frequent target of altered dates.

Type 1 quarters continued into 1917 at all three mints, with more than 8.7 million at Philadelphia. Partway through 1917 the design changed to Type 2: Liberty's chest is covered by chain mail and the reverse eagle is raised, with three stars added below it. Both types of 1917 coins have the mint mark on the obverse, to the left of the date. The raised date was a high point of the design, so many 1917 coins now show a partial date.

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Walking Liberty Half Dollar: Weinman's design and the obverse mint mark

Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty half dollar was first struck in 1916 and reached the public in January 1917. Liberty strides toward the rising sun wrapped in the flag. On the reverse an eagle perches on a rock beside a mountain pine sapling. Weinman's AW monogram sits under the tips of the eagle's wings. The first coins carry the mint mark on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST.

The 1916 Philadelphia coins, 608,000 struck, have no mint mark. The 1916-S, at 508,000, is the scarcest of the first-year issues. In 1917 the mint mark moved to the reverse near the rim at the lower left, so the 1917-D and 1917-S exist in both positions. The obverse mint mark versions of 1917 are the scarcer pair. First-year coins are often found well worn with flat centers.

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Mercury Dime: War years and heavy output

With the United States drawn into the First World War, demand for small change jumped. The three mints struck 307,166,800 Mercury dimes dated 1917 to 1920, with Philadelphia alone producing 55,230,000 in 1917 and 59,030,000 in 1920. Denver and San Francisco each added between about 8.8 and 27.3 million a year. The smallest figure of the era is the 1919-S at 8,850,000, still a big number by the standards of the 1920s. The 1917-D, at 9,402,000, is a little scarcer than its neighbors in better grades.

None of these dates is scarce in worn condition, but quality is another matter. Branch mint dimes from these years are often softly struck, with flat hair above the forehead, a weak date and indistinct bands across the fasces. The 1919-D and 1919-S are famous for this. An uncirculated example with fully split center bands earns a collector premium far beyond that of an ordinary coin of the same date. Philadelphia coins of the period usually come better struck.

Most coins you'll find from this era are worn to Good or Very Good, with the date still readable but the wing feathers flattened. Read the date first, then the mint mark. A weak strike can leave a D or an S faint, so tilt the coin under a light until the letter shows its full outline. Silver dimes like these stayed in pocket change until the 1960s, so most of them saw decades of use.

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