Produced during the final year of World War I when the United States' economy was still strong due to the nation's participation in that conflict, the 1918-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar had a generous mintage of 3.8 million pieces. The demands of commerce were great, however, and the vast majority of examples entered circulation at the time of issue and remained there until heavily worn or lost. The result is that the 1918-S is now numbered among the rarer Walking Liberty half dollars even in lower Mint State grades, edging out such other early date issues as the 1917-D Obverse Mintmark, 1917-S Reverse Mintmark, 1918-S and 1927-S. The 1918-D is rarely offered in Gem Mint State. The typical Uncirculated survivor is limited in grade by subdued luster, excessive surface abrasions and/or soft striking detail in and around the centers. Writing in the 2008 book Collecting & Investing Strategies for Walking Liberty Half Dollars, our own Jeff Ambio ranks the 1918-D as the third rarest issue in this series at and above the MS-65 grade level.

View 1918-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar Auction Results

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in August 2013 Sale, where it realized $7,800.