1918 US Coins: Values & Mintages

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 many coins were made in 1918

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 538,061,588 coins dated 1918 across 15 issues. That is close to the 1917 total of 501,020,614. In 1919 the figure rose to 738,642,000.

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

By mint: Philadelphia 367,744,948 (68%, up from 337,995,814), Denver 90,100,640 (17%, up from 84,871,800) and San Francisco 80,216,000 (15%, up from 78,153,000).

Those coins held about 18,390,934 troy ounces of pure silver.

1918 coins by denomination

Cents: 370,614,634 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Lincoln Wheat Cent, up 30% on 1917. The scarcest is the 1918-S (34,680,000) and the most plentiful the 1918 (288,104,634).

Nickels: 45,330,314 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Buffalo Nickel, down 31% on 1917. The scarcest is the 1918-S (4,882,000) and the most plentiful the 1918 (32,086,314).

Dimes: 68,654,800 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Mercury Dime, down 25% on 1917. The scarcest is the 1918-S (19,300,000) and the most plentiful the 1918 (26,680,000).

Quarters: 32,692,800 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Standing Liberty Quarter, down 14% on 1917. The scarcest is the 1918-D (7,380,800) and the most plentiful the 1918 (14,240,000).

Half Dollars: 20,769,040 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, down 3.4% on 1917. The scarcest is the 1918-D (3,853,040) and the most plentiful the 1918-S (10,282,000).

Every 1918 circulation issue at a glance

• 1918-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 3,853,040 struck, 29th lowest of 65 in the series, up from 765,400 in 1917.
• 1918-S Buffalo Nickel: 4,882,000 struck, 14th lowest of 64 in the series, similar to 1917.
• 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 6,634,000 struck, more than 63% of the series' 65 issues, down from 12,292,000 in 1917.
• 1918-D Standing Liberty Quarter: 7,380,800 struck, more than 67% of the series' 37 issues, up from 1,509,200 in 1917.
• 1918-D Buffalo Nickel: 8,362,000 struck, 31st lowest of 64 in the series, similar to 1917.
• 1918-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 10,282,000 struck, more than 80% of the series' 65 issues, up from 952,000 in 1917.
• 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter: 11,072,000 struck, more than 78% of the series' 37 issues, up from 1,952,000 in 1917.
• 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter: 14,240,000 struck, more than 97% of the series' 37 issues, up from 8,740,000 in 1917.
• 1918-S Mercury Dime: 19,300,000 struck, 38th lowest of 77 in the series, down from 27,330,000 in 1917.
• 1918-D Mercury Dime: 22,674,800 struck, more than 57% of the series' 77 issues, up from 9,402,000 in 1917.
• 1918 Mercury Dime: 26,680,000 struck, more than 64% of the series' 77 issues, down from 55,230,000 in 1917.
• 1918 Buffalo Nickel: 32,086,314 struck, more than 81% of the series' 64 issues, down from 51,424,029 in 1917.

The 3 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Wheat Cent: Initials return and the 1922 plain

In 1918 Brenner's initials returned, this time tiny on the truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, where they stayed for the rest of the series. Production stayed high after the war, but a recession cut 1921 output. In 1922 only Denver struck cents. Worn and filled dies at Denver produced coins with no visible mint mark, the 1922 Plain. Only one die pair shows a strong reverse and no trace of the D. That is the variety collectors want.

Branch mint cents of the 1920s are known for soft strikes. The 1924-D, 1926-S and other San Francisco and Denver dates often show weak hair detail and mushy wheat lines. The 1926-S is notoriously hard to find with red color. Most dates from this era survive in circulated grades with brown surfaces. Fully struck, red examples from the branch mints are much harder to find than Philadelphia coins.

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Buffalo Nickel: World War I output and the 1918/7-D

Demand during and after World War I kept production high, reaching more than 60 million at Philadelphia in 1919 and 1920. Denver and San Francisco each struck around 5 to 10 million a year, far less than Philadelphia. A postwar recession cut 1921 output. San Francisco struck only 1.6 million that year, a semi-key date.

The 1918/7-D overdate is one of the most famous varieties of the 20th century. A working die received an 8 over a 7 and went into use without the error being caught. The overdate is difficult to see on worn coins, so collectors check the shape of the 8. Most survivors from these years are worn, often with weak dates. Well struck branch mint coins are scarce.

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Standing Liberty Quarter: Raised dates and soft strikes

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.

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Walking Liberty Half Dollar: Soft strikes and scarce postwar dates

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.

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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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