1913 Half Dollar Error List with Pictures
An eagle with four wings and three feet helped a worn 1913 Barber half dollar sell for $3,450 in January 2004. The coin had turned between two strikes, leaving overlapping pictures.
These 1913 half dollar errors have estimated values from $100 to $4,000, depending on the error and the coin’s condition. Read on to learn how to spot peeling metal, a tiny missing edge, and mistakes made when the design was stamped.
1. 1913 Barber Half Dollar Lamination Error (Estimated Up to $500)
A thin flap can lift away from a coin while the nearby design stays in place. Do not pull it off.
This kind of peeling is called lamination, and it starts with a weak layer inside the metal blank. The flap may remain attached or fall away, leaving a rough patch beneath it.
Lamination is reported for 1913, but the reference names no particular mint or side.
Look where the flap joins the sound metal. A scrape, cut, or patch of corrosion can leave a similar-looking mark for a different reason.
Estimated Value
A worn example with genuine peeling has an estimated value of $100–$500. A 1912-S Barber half dollar with an attached flap sold for $89 at Heritage in March 2026.
PCGS graded that earlier coin VG8, meaning heavy wear with major details still visible. It provides a nearby-year comparison, not a 1913 sale.
The size of the peel, the mint, and the rest of the coin’s condition affect the estimate.
How to Identify
View the flap from a low angle so you can see whether a layer rises above the surrounding surface. A photograph taken straight down may hide that difference.
With a magnifier, inspect where the layer joins the coin without bending it or pressing underneath. Cutting marks, repeated scrape lines, and small corrosion pits suggest other causes.
Use a scale to compare the weight with 12.50 grams and calipers to check the usual 30.6-millimeter diameter. Also inspect the grooves around the edge and read the date and mintmark area below the eagle.
An untouched flap that clearly joins an internal layer is the quickest useful sign of genuine lamination.
2. 1913 Barber Half Dollar Off-Center Strike Error (Estimated Up to $1,500)
A genuine off-center strike leaves two connected clues: blank metal on one side and missing design on the other. An uneven rim by itself is not enough.
The blank sat away from the center of the press when the design was stamped. Some of the picture therefore fell beyond the edge of the metal.
The 1913 reference names no mint and gives no amount of shift. Examine both sides of the candidate coin.
One shifted stamping tool can also leave an uneven rim. In that case, the whole blank need not have moved off center.
Estimated Value
Use an estimated $400–$1,500 for a genuine worn 1913 example with a readable date and a moderately shifted design. A fifteen-percent off-center 1976 Kennedy half dollar sold at Heritage for $480 in December 2025.
That later coin was graded NGC MS64, meaning no wear but some marks. It shows what buyers paid for a similar striking mistake, while the Barber coin’s age, mint, condition, and visible error determine its own value.
How to Identify
Put photographs of the front and back side by side at the same size. Follow the missing design around each side and compare it with the blank crescent.
Read the date before assigning the coin to 1913. If the mintmark area below the eagle is missing, do not guess what was there.
Check the edge and blank area with a magnifier for cuts or filing. A scale and calipers let you compare the coin with the normal 12.50 grams and 30.6 millimeters across.
The quickest check is original blank metal on one side paired with corresponding missing design on both faces of the coin.
3. 1913 Barber Half Dollar Broadstrike Error (Estimated Up to $3,000)
Does the whole picture fit inside an unusually wide coin? That is an important clue to a broadstrike.
During a normal strike, a metal ring called a collar holds the blank and limits how far it spreads. If the ring fails to hold it, the metal can spread outward while the complete design remains visible.
The 1913 report names this error but provides no certified example or mint. A finished coin can also become wider if someone hammers it flat, so the shape must agree with the condition of the design and the edge.
Estimated Value
A genuine 1913 broadstrike with clear expansion and attractive worn surfaces has an estimated value of $750–$3,000. The upper end allows for only slight wear.
A 1944 Walking Liberty broadstrike sold for $3,120 at Heritage in August 2020, graded PCGS MS62 with no wear. Its different design and uneven position within the widened blank matter, so that sale is a comparison rather than a recorded price for a Barber half dollar.
How to Identify
Check several widths with calipers instead of measuring only across the widest point. Compare the readings with a normal Barber half dollar’s 30.6 millimeters.
Then inspect the edge through a magnifier. The ring normally forms grooves there; missing or uneven grooves can help explain the wider shape, but filing can also remove them.
A scale should read close to the normal 12.50 grams because spreading does not remove metal. Look for hammer marks or flattened design details, and check the date and mintmark before using a 1913 price.
A complete, well-shaped design inside a naturally widened edge gives the quickest useful clue to a true broadstrike.
4. 1913-S Barber Half Dollar Tiny Clipped Planchet Error (Estimated Up to $3,500)
A tiny piece missing from the edge can be easy to overlook in a photograph of the whole coin. That is the feature collector Sean Reynolds reported on a 1913-S half dollar graded PCGS MS64.
He discussed it in 2006 before the coin appeared in Heritage’s January 2007 auction as lot 4590. The same discussion also covered an 1898 quarter, which is a different coin.
A genuine clip begins when the metal blank is cut incorrectly, before the design is stamped. A notch cut into a finished coin later is damage, even if it looks small and neat.
Estimated Value
The estimated range for the reported 1913-S in MS64 condition is $2,000–$3,500. MS64 means no wear, though marks keep the coin below the highest quality levels.
The auction-platform record lists a $1,900 starting price for January 2007 lot 4590, not a final sale price. The value of the well-preserved coin itself is important here; a tiny clip should not receive the same extra value as a large missing section.
How to Identify
Check the date and S below the eagle against the 1913-S half dollar discussed by Sean Reynolds. The thread also shows other coins, so make sure you are comparing the right one.
Use a magnifier at the tiny missing section and the small border details beside it. Weakness in the opposite rim can support a genuine clip, although it may be slight.
Measure the remaining width with calipers against 30.6 millimeters, and weigh it against the normal 12.50 grams. Such a small missing piece may cause very little weight loss.
A matching original edge shape in the lot photographs provides the quickest way to check this particular reported clip.
5. 1913 Barber Half Dollar Double Struck in Collar Error (Estimated Up to $4,000)
Count the eagle’s wings and feet on this 1913 Philadelphia half dollar. It has four wings and three feet, even though much of the design is worn.
The coin received one strike, turned clockwise by more than ten degrees, and received another while still held inside the surrounding metal ring. Both pictures remain partly visible.
The motto on the front also appears twice in different positions. The coin moved between blows.
A doubled die is different. Its steel stamping tool already carries a doubled design before it touches the coin.
Estimated Value
The PCGS VG8 example sold for $3,450 at Heritage on January 10, 2004. VG8 describes a heavily worn coin whose main details remain visible.
An estimated $3,000–$4,000 suits a worn example with similarly clear overlapping designs. The sale is an older result, not a recent transaction.
Its recognizable extra wings and feet help explain why it brought a strong price despite the wear.
How to Identify
Start with the eagle. Trace each wing and foot with a magnifier, then compare the two positions of the motto on the front.
Both sides should show a similar turn between the first and second pictures. The auction photographs are useful because wear can make parts of those pictures blend together.
Inspect the grooves around the edge for later damage, and use calipers to check the normal width of about 30.6 millimeters. A scale should read near 12.50 grams, allowing for metal lost through wear.
Four wings and three feet, together with the turned second motto, are the quickest match to this recorded 1913 double strike.
Conclusion
The estimated $100–$4,000 range covers very different mistakes, from a peeling metal layer to two overlapping designs. The $3,450 auction result belongs to the worn double strike with extra wings and feet.
For another coin, match the visible feature to its cause before using a price. Keep the 1913-S tiny clip separate from that Philadelphia example, and never pull at a loose metal flap.