1908-D Barber Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 3,280,000 made
- Mintage
- 3,280,000
- 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 1908-D Barber 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 1908-D Barber Half Dollar rare?
- No. With 3.3 million made, it's one of the most common Barber Half Dollars.
- Is the 1908-D Barber 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 1908 Barber Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1908 are scarcer?
- The 1913-D at 534,000, the 1911-D at 695,080, the 1912-D at 2,300,800. So the 1908-D is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1908-D Barber Half Dollar coins were made?
- 3,280,000.
What to check on your 1908-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1908 (1.4 million made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. A full LIBERTY on the headband is the key to Very Fine and better.
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 1908-D
Output at Denver slipped to 3,280,000 in 1908, from 3.9 million the year before. After that, Denver didn't make another until 1911.
1908 came to 1.4 million and 1908-S came to 1.6 million and 1908-O came to 5.4 million, so neither mint's 1908 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Denver's 7 Barber Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1913-D with 534,000 made. The 1908-D is one of the easier ones. Within the 1900s it's 26th smallest of 33, between the 1904 (3 million) and the 1907-D (3.9 million).
Four mints and the end at New Orleans (1906 to 1909)
Denver struck its first half dollars in 1906, 4,028,000 of them. For four years all four mints made halves, the only time that happened in the Barber series. New Orleans struck 5,360,000 in 1908 and then 925,400 in 1909, its final half dollars before the mint stopped coining. San Francisco and Philadelphia each struck between about 1.25 and 2.64 million a year.
With so many mints working, the coins of these years are among the easiest Barber halves to find. They make a good starting point for a mint mark set because every coin of 1906 to 1908 is available in moderate grades. The 1909-O is the scarcest of the period. Mint marks sit just below the eagle's tail and are small, so a loupe helps when reading them on worn coins.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1908
Congress ordered the motto "In God We Trust" restored to US gold coins in May 1908, so both the double eagle and the eagle come in "No Motto" and "With Motto" types this year.
How to recognize it
Charles Barber's Liberty faces right wearing a cap, a laurel wreath and a headband inscribed LIBERTY, with IN GOD WE TRUST above and 13 stars around. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with a shield, arrows and an olive branch and the words HALF DOLLAR below. The mint mark sits below the eagle's tail.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Barber Half Dollar (1892–1915) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 3,280,000 |
| 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 | Charles E. Barber |
Other 1908 Barber Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 Barber Half Dollar | 1,354,545 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1908-D Barber Half Dollar | 3,280,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1908-S Barber Half Dollar | 1,644,828 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1908-O Barber Half Dollar | 5,360,000 | 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.