1918-S

The 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter occupies a particularly interesting position within the series because its mintage of 11,072,000 includes the legendary 1918/7-S overdate variety, which was struck from a misdated working die that paired the 7 leftover from 1917 with a fresh 8 punch. San Francisco coined the parent date during a year of heavy Pacific Coast wartime activity, when shipyards in the Bay Area drew thousands of workers whose wages flowed back through retail channels. The standard 1918-S typically shows the characteristic soft strike associated with San Francisco quarter production of this era, particularly around the central shield rivets. Survival rates in higher grades trail Philadelphia output, and full-head specimens from this issue command serious attention from advanced collectors building registry-grade sets.

Hermon Atkins MacNeil's Type 2 design dominates the obverse, with Liberty's torso protected by chain mail beneath the date 1918 and the S mintmark positioned above and to the left of the date. The "M" monogram appears at the base of the shield to the right of the date, as on all examples. Composition remains 90% silver and 10% copper, weight 6.25 grams, diameter 24.3 mm. Authentication for the standard 1918-S requires careful inspection to ensure the date has not been altered or doctored to imitate the overdate variety. Examine the lower loop of the 8 under 10x magnification: the standard 1918-S shows no underlying digit, while doctored coins often display crude tooling marks or added metal in this area. San Francisco strikes from this period commonly show die polish lines in the obverse fields and frequently lack full-head detail even on choice Mint State coins.

PCGS and NGC populations rank 1918-S as moderately available in circulated grades but genuinely scarce above MS-64. Heritage Auctions has recorded strong results for Full Head examples. The standard date provides a meaningful entry point for collectors who cannot pursue the overdate. View the broader Standing Liberty Quarter series history.