1808 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1808

The Classic Head design by John Reich reached the large cent in 1808. Large cent output stayed modest for most of the following decade.

New this year: the Classic Head Large Cent.

The Mint in the 1800s

In 1800 the national capital moved to Washington, but the Mint stayed in Philadelphia. Congress renewed it only for a few years at a time and there were serious proposals to close it and contract coinage out. Elias Boudinot served as director until 1805 and the scientist Robert Patterson took over early in 1806, running the Mint for almost two decades.

Large silver and gold coins were being exported or melted rather than circulating, so the silver dollar and the $10 eagle stopped in 1804 and were formally suspended in 1806. The half dime was not struck after 1805 and the quarter stopped after 1807. The Mint concentrated on cents and half dollars, which became the most useful coins for banks. In 1807 the German-born engraver John Reich joined the Mint and introduced the Capped Bust designs.

How many coins were made in 1808

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 2,375,600 coins dated 1808 across 2 issues. That is close to the 1807 total of 2,266,440. In 1809 the figure fell to 1,679,742.

It was the biggest year since 1803.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 529,321 troy ounces of pure silver.

1808 coins by denomination

Cents: 1,007,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Classic Head Large Cent, up 21% on 1807.

Half Dollars: 1,368,600 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Capped Bust Half Dollar, up 30% on 1807.

Every 1808 circulation issue at a glance

• 1808 Classic Head Large Cent: 1,007,000 struck, more than 67% of the series' 7 issues.
• 1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar: 1,368,600 struck, 13th lowest of 35 in the series, up from 750,500 in 1807.

Classic Head Large Cent: John Reich's new head and two low mintage keys

John Reich, hired as assistant engraver in 1807, introduced the Classic Head cent in 1808 with Liberty wearing a band inscribed LIBERTY and a simpler wreath on the reverse. The 1808 has a 12 Stars variety caused by a die flaw that hid one star. The design stayed the same through 1811, but output swung widely as copper supplies came and went.

Two of the scarcest dates in the series fall here. The 1811 is the lowest mintage regular Classic Head at 218,025, with an 1811/0 overdate as well. The 1809 is close behind at 222,867. The 1810 includes an 1810/09 overdate struck from a reworked die. Classic Head copper was often of uneven quality, so many survivors have dark, porous or granular surfaces even when the design is only lightly worn. A smooth, evenly brown example is noticeably harder to find than a sharp one.

Collectors know the Classic Head cents for difficult surfaces. The copper the Mint received in these years was often soft or impure and many coins have darkened, turned porous or corroded. A Classic Head cent with smooth, glossy brown surfaces is much scarcer than its mintage suggests and specialists will often choose an attractive lower-grade coin over a sharper one with rough surfaces. Wear shows first on the curls above the eye and on the LIBERTY band.

See every Classic Head Large Cent →

Capped Bust Half Dollar: John Reich's half and the bank reserve years

John Reich's Capped Bust half dollar replaced the Draped Bust in 1807, with 750,500 struck that year. First-year varieties include small stars, large stars, a 50 over 20 denomination and the so-called Bearded Liberty, named for a die break under the chin. Output then stayed above one million a year through 1814, reaching 1,628,059 in 1812.

Banks used half dollars as their main silver reserve, so many coins moved between bank vaults rather than through daily trade. That helps explain why survivors from these years are often found in Fine to Extremely Fine rather than worn smooth. Overdates such as 1808/7, 1812/1 and 1814/3 are well known. The 1813 reverse with 50 C. punched over UNI is popular with specialists who collect by die marriage.

See every Capped Bust Half Dollar →