1908 Barber Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,354,545 made
- Mintage
- 1,354,545 (includes proofs)
- 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 Barber Half Dollar worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1908 Barber Half Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,354,545 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1908 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.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1908 are scarcer?
- The 1913 at 188,624, the 1910 at 418,551, the 1905 at 662,727. So the 1908 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1908 Barber Half Dollar coins were made?
- 1,354,545.
What to check on your 1908
- 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. A full LIBERTY on the headband is the key to Very Fine and better.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1908
Philadelphia made 1,354,545 in 1908, down from 2.6 million in 1907. The next year it made 2.4 million (1909).
1908-S came to 1.6 million and 1908-D came to 3.3 million and 1908-O came to 5.4 million, so neither mint's 1908 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1912-S (1,370,000) and the 1893-O (1,389,000).
Philadelphia struck the Barber Half Dollar in 24 issues between 1892 and 1915. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1914 (124,610). Within the 1900s it's 9th smallest of 33, between the 1907-S (1.3 million) and the 1902-S (1.5 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 | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,354,545 (includes proofs) |
| 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.