1918-D

Denver delivered 3,853,040 Walking Liberty halves in 1918, the lowest of the three 1918 mintages and a figure that puts the issue solidly into semi-key territory for the series. The D mintmark sits on the reverse at the lower-left rock beneath the eagle's tail feathers, the position it would occupy for every branch-mint Walker from 1917 onward. This was the second year of branch-mint reverse mintmarks, and Denver's output that year fell well below San Francisco's 10.28 million pieces. The 1918-D became one of the early collecting hurdles for date-set builders and remains a coin that punishes condition rarities far more harshly than its mintage alone might suggest.

Strike quality on the 1918-D is a chronic concern. Liberty's left hand and the lower skirt thumb area frequently come weak, and the eagle's breast and central talon often lack the feather definition that defines a Full Strike Walker. Choice circulated examples in XF and AU are reasonable, but mint state pieces above MS63 require careful selection, and MS65 coins with bold strike are condition rarities. Authentication should begin with the 12.50 g weight and 30.61 mm diameter check, followed by close inspection of the D mintmark style. Genuine 1918-D D punches are upright and squared at the serifs, and the letter rests in a consistent relationship to the rock below the eagle's tail. Added-D forgeries on 1918-P host coins do exist and can be detected through tooling marks around the mintmark and disturbed luster in the surrounding field. Edge reeding should appear sharp and unfiled.

Population reports from Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) confirm that gem 1918-D Walkers thin out quickly above MS64, with MS66 examples genuinely scarce and MS67 pieces among the toughest in the series for the date. Collectors building registry sets routinely pay heavy premiums for full-strike gems. For background on Weinman's design and the production history of branch-mint issues, see the Walking Liberty Half Dollar series history.