1915 Barber Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 138,450 made
- Mintage
- 138,450 (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 1915 Barber Half Dollar worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1915 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
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 1915 Barber Half Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 138,450 were made, 2nd lowest of the 73 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1915 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 1915 Barber Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1915 are scarcer?
- The 1914 at 124,610. So the 1915 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1915 Barber Half Dollar coins were made?
- 138,450.
What to check on your 1915
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1915
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 138,450 in 1915, from 124,610 the year before. It was also the last year of the series.
The other mints made far more that year: 1915-S alone came to 1.6 million, roughly 12 for every 1915. If you're checking a pile of 1915 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1914 (124,610) and the 1913 (188,624).
Only the 1914 has a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 24 Barber Half Dollars. Among the 1910s issues, only the 1914 had a smaller 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 1915
San Francisco hosted the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, for which the Mint struck commemorative coins including $50 gold pieces.
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 | 1915 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 138,450 (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 1915 Barber Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 Barber Half Dollar | 138,450 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1915-D Barber Half Dollar | 1,170,400 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1915-S Barber Half Dollar | 1,604,000 | 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.