1912-D Barber Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 2,300,800 made
- Mintage
- 2,300,800
- 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 1912-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 1912-D Barber Half Dollar rare?
- No. 2.3 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1912-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 1912 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 1912 are scarcer?
- The 1913-D at 534,000, the 1911-D at 695,080, the 1915-D at 1,170,400. So the 1912-D is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1912-D Barber Half Dollar coins were made?
- 2,300,800.
What to check on your 1912-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 1912-S (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 1912-D
Denver ramped up hard in 1912: 2,300,800 coins, about 3.3 times the 1911 run. The next year it made 534,000 (1913-D).
1912-S came to 1.4 million and 1912 came to 1.6 million, so neither mint's 1912 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Denver struck the Barber Half Dollar in 7 issues between 1906 and 1915. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1913-D (534,000). No Barber Half Dollar of the 1910s had a bigger run.
Low Philadelphia mintages and the series end (1910 to 1915)
Philadelphia struck only 418,551 halves in 1910 and even fewer from 1913 to 1915: 188,624, 124,610 and 138,450. These are the lowest Philadelphia mintages of the series and they carry a premium even in worn grades.
Denver and San Francisco carried most of the output. The 1913-D at 534,000 and the 1911-D at 695,080 are the lowest branch issues of the period. The final coins were struck in 1915 at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco before the Walking Liberty half replaced Barber's design in 1916. Proofs of these years were made in small numbers. They survive in nice condition more often than business strikes do. Examine the area below the eagle's tail on any 1913, 1914 or 1915 offered as a Philadelphia coin, since a removed mint mark leaves tooling marks.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1912
Denver and San Francisco struck nickels for the first time, the only branch-mint Liberty Head nickels. It was the last regular year of the design.
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 | 1912 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,300,800 |
| 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 1912 Barber Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 Barber Half Dollar | 1,550,700 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1912-D Barber Half Dollar | 2,300,800 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1912-S Barber Half Dollar | 1,370,000 | 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.