Barber Half Dollar Value Chart: Every Date From 1892 to 1915

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Barber halves struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1914 Barber Half Dollar: 124,610 made.
2. 1915 Barber Half Dollar: 138,450 made.
3. 1913 Barber Half Dollar: 188,624 made.
4. 1892-O Barber Half Dollar: 390,000 made.
5. 1910 Barber Half Dollar: 418,551 made.
6. 1905-O Barber Half Dollar: 505,000 made.

Every barber half dollar by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 4 stages

Barber halves debut at three mints (1892 to 1896)

Charles Barber's half dollar matched his dime and quarter of 1892, with Liberty's head on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco all struck it from the start. The 1892-O includes the rare Micro O variety, with a mint mark much smaller than normal, apparently from a punch made for a smaller denomination.

Key dates from New Orleans and San Francisco (1897 to 1905)

The 1897-O (632,000) and 1897-S (933,900) are the keys of the series and are scarce in every grade. Later scarce dates include the 1901-S (847,044), the 1904-S (553,038) and the 1905-O (505,000). Philadelphia's own 1905 mintage of 662,727 was also low, though Philadelphia struck far more in most other years of the period.

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.

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.

Decade by decade

• 1890s: 24 issues, 41 million coins. Scarcest: 1892-O (390,000).
• 1900s: 33 issues, 79 million coins. Scarcest: 1905-O (505,000).
• 1910s: 16 issues, 16 million coins. Scarcest: 1914 (124,610).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1892 to 1915: On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark.

Identifying and grading Barber halves

A full LIBERTY on the headband is the key to Very Fine and better.

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.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.