1918 Quarter Error List with Pictures
The final 8 can hide a very expensive 7. A 1918/7-S quarter graded PCGS MS64+ Full Head brought $336,000 at Heritage in September 2020.
That famous overdate leads the 1918 quarter errors, but peeling metal, shifted designs, and repeated strikes offer other things to examine. Estimated whole-coin values below range from $30–$336,000.
Use the pictures and checks below to distinguish the date variety from other minting faults.
1. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Attached Flakes and Peeling Metal
Thin pieces of silver alloy can lift away from a weak area within a quarter. This separation is called lamination, and an attached flap may still carry part of the design.
A Denver example graded NGC MS63 has attached metal near five o’clock on the front and one o’clock on the back. The grade describes an unworn coin with visible marks.
A separate Philadelphia example has peeling on the back and a CACG AU Details description. That label combines light wear with a condition problem; it does not describe the Denver coin.
Estimated Value
For comparable genuine 1918 peeling errors, estimate $30–$1,000 across worn examples and attractive unworn pieces. The original coin’s grade, mint, and the size of the separation all matter.
A different silver-quarter example, a 1932-S with front peeling graded NGC AU58, sold for $228 in September 2023. That sale provides context rather than a fixed value for either 1918 coin.
An intact flap may be more appealing than a damaged or scraped opening.
How to Identify
On the described Denver example, locate both attached areas before comparing a close-up photograph. A front-only picture leaves out the back flap and can hide how much of the coin is affected.
Light the coin from the side and follow the thin edge into the surrounding metal. Do not push it down to test whether it moves.
Check whether design details continue onto the flap. A ridge beside a deep scrape may instead be metal pushed upward by later damage.
For the Philadelphia coin, examine the back separately and note any condition problem. Its location and grade should not be borrowed from the Denver example merely because both are labeled lamination.
2. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Front Design Shifted toward the Right
An uneven rim on just one face may mean the stamping tool was not centered over the coin. That differs from the whole blank metal disk sitting outside its proper striking position.
A reported 1918-D example shows the front design shifted toward three o’clock. An extra rim outline appears around the left side, roughly between seven and eleven o’clock.
The same report describes attached peeling metal near four o’clock on the front. That flake is an additional feature of this example, not the two-face peeling pattern on the separate Denver MS63 coin.
Estimated Value
A genuine moderate front-tool misalignment on a comparable 1918-D quarter has an estimated whole-coin value of $50–$1,000. The range depends heavily on wear and how clearly the rim shows the shift.
The reported coin has some circulation wear and an attached flake. Those two features need to be assessed together rather than assigned two full prices and added.
An uneven rim caused by later rolling or impact does not receive the same mint-error premium.
How to Identify
Turn the coin over before deciding what caused the front rim to look uneven. A normally centered back supports a front-tool shift, while matching displacement on both faces points toward an off-center strike.
Now follow the front border from seven to eleven o’clock and compare its width with the right-hand border. Photograph the full circle so a tilted close-up does not exaggerate the difference between the two sides.
Check the outer edge for crushed metal or rolling damage that could imitate an extra rim. Leave the reported flap near four o’clock untouched; its presence does not prove that the front tool was misaligned.
3. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Design Interrupted by Foreign Material
A small area may lack design because something lay between the blank and a stamping tool. The material blocked the image while the rest of the coin was struck normally.
This is called a struck-through error. Reports for 1918 mention affected portrait or shield areas without identifying a particular piece of wire, cloth, or other material.
Those locations need careful examination because ordinary Standing Liberty quarters often have weak details there. A softly formed head alone does not establish that an object interrupted the strike or create a separate valuable error.
Estimated Value
Estimate $50–$1,500 for comparable genuine 1918 struck-through quarters. Small interruptions on worn coins belong nearer the lower end, while a clear and unusual impression can draw stronger interest.
The range assumes that foreign material actually blocked the design. Ordinary weak head or shield detail does not qualify by itself.
Compare the size of the affected area and the preservation of nearby features. The coin’s mint, wear, and later damage also influence its complete value.
How to Identify
Compare the faint area with another Standing Liberty quarter that has a similar level of wear. Broad weakness in the same high points may be ordinary striking quality rather than a trapped object.
Look for a boundary where otherwise clear detail suddenly stops.
Use a magnifier to inspect any depression for texture or a shape that explains the interruption. A smooth hollow alone does not identify the material that caused it.
Scratches can cut across a finished design and pile metal beside the cut. Check for those displaced ridges before calling a mark struck through.
Take one photograph of the entire face and another of the boundary, using light from the side.
4. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Repeated Strike within the Edge Ring
Two overlapping design positions can remain when a coin receives another blow before leaving the press. The metal may stay inside the edge ring, so the coin need not develop a large blank crescent.
The ring normally limits outward spread and forms the grooves around the edge. Repeated contact can leave another set of edge impressions as well as overlapping letters or figures.
Mint Error News reports this kind of repeated strike for 1918. The description does not establish a particular rotation angle or mint, and neither should be guessed from the general error name.
Estimated Value
For a confirmed 1918 quarter with a clear repeated strike inside the edge ring, estimate $1,000–$8,000. Separate readable design positions usually tell the story more clearly than a crowded patch of indistinct lines.
Wear can hide the weaker image, while cuts or cleaning reduce appeal. A reliable date and mint identification also matter when comparing two examples.
The estimate concerns a whole coin with repeated striking, not a small doubled edge on one letter.
How to Identify
Choose one recognizable figure or word and trace its complete position in a photograph. Then identify which nearby lines belong to a second impression rather than the first design’s ordinary details.
Compare the back for related overlap. Two faces of the same coin should support a consistent sequence even when one face preserves the earlier image more clearly.
Examine the grooves around the edge without removing a graded coin from its holder. Repeated grooves can support another strike, but damage to the edge can also create misleading marks.
The 1918/7 date is a different test: an extra 7 within the final 8 does not by itself prove that this particular coin received two blows.
5. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Shifted Design, Sometimes with an Indent
An off-center strike leaves part of the disk bare while the design runs toward the opposite edge. One cataloged 1918-S example shifted about thirteen percent toward one o’clock and was graded MS63 Full Head.
Parts of ERT in LIBERTY are cut off, with blank metal around the opposite lower-left border. Full Head describes strong head detail rather than an additional error.
A separate 1918-S graded PCGS MS63 combines a ten-percent shift with an indent. Another overlapping blank caused that depression; the two reports describe different coins, not two measurements of one strike.
Estimated Value
Comparable 1918-S off-center quarters can be estimated at $1,500–$12,000, depending on condition and how clearly the displaced design appears. A distinct indent can add interest to the combined-error example.
The thirteen-percent Full Head coin and the ten-percent indented coin still need individual assessments. Their different percentages and features should not be combined into a single description.
A sharp date, readable mint letter, and clean original surface make comparison easier than a closely cropped picture.
How to Identify
Find the bare metal before estimating the shift. On the thirteen-percent example, the upper-right movement should explain both the clipped ERT lettering and the blank area toward the opposite border.
Inspect both faces together to distinguish a displaced blank from an uneven rim on just one side.
For the separate indented coin, locate the recessed area and trace where the overlapping blank blocked the design. A smooth depression does not automatically contain the backward image expected from a brockage, which is a transferred mirror image.
Check the actual coin to determine which face carries the indent. Keep its photograph separate from the thirteen-percent example, and include the readable date and S.
6. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter Opposite-Design Traces beside the Knee
An unexpected line beside Liberty’s knee can come from the design on the other face. On the 1918/7-S overdate, clash traces are described beside the right knee and below it.
The steel stamping tools met without a blank between them and marked each other. Later coins received those marks along with the normal image.
One trace follows part of an E from AMERICA on the back. It is a different feature from the extra 7 inside the date, even when both appear on the same coin; wear may hide the faint clash.
Estimated Value
For worn through ordinary unworn 1918/7-S examples showing the clash, estimate roughly $2,000–$35,000. Most of that value comes from the scarce overdate itself, not the faint extra line by the knee.
Exceptional Full Head coins can be much more valuable, as the overdate section explains. Do not add this clash estimate to the overdate price for the same specimen.
A reported clash on an ordinary-date coin needs its own comparison rather than the overdate’s price.
How to Identify
Hold the coin with Liberty upright and locate her right knee on the viewer’s left. Compare the shallow area beside it and the space below with a normal coin’s clothing folds.
The mark should relate to a shape on the opposite tool, not simply resemble an arbitrary scratch. Compare the E in AMERICA with the reported transferred stroke, keeping the full front and back designs in view.
An identified overdate example is a useful photographic reference, but do not demand that every worn coin retain the same faint line. Confirm the date independently: a clash near the knee can support a comparison, yet cannot replace the actual 7-under-8 evidence.
7. 1918 Standing Liberty Quarter 1918/7-S Overdate
A bar crossing the upper part of the final 8 reveals the remains of a 7. This is the famous 1918/7-S overdate, made when images dated 1917 and 1918 helped form the same stamping tool.
The overlapping digits were therefore already present before the individual quarter was struck. Calling it a doubled die describes the same date variety, not a second error to count separately.
The S sits near the bottom-left side of the standing figure. The variety belongs to San Francisco quarters and should not be confused with the different 1918/7-D Buffalo nickel.
Estimated Value
Authentic examples span an estimated $2,000–$336,000, from heavily worn coins to exceptional survivors. PCGS records a $336,000 Heritage sale in September 2020 for an MS64+ Full Head example.
Full Head means unusually complete head detail, which is especially valuable on this scarce overdate. It is not another minting mistake.
Most worn examples sell far below that historic high. Readability of the extra digit, surface problems, and preservation determine the appropriate comparison.
How to Identify
Concentrate on the final digit under a 10× magnifier, using light from more than one direction. The older 7 should leave a distinct horizontal trace through the upper part of the 8, with further remains below.
Look for raised original detail instead of a fresh engraved cut.
Confirm the S beside the lower-left part of the figure and compare the entire date with an authenticated example. A modified ordinary date can resemble one small detail while failing the wider comparison.
Do not clean the loops of the 8 to make them easier to see. Leave deposits in place for professional examination, because added cuts and altered digits can affect the value dramatically.
Conclusion
These 1918 quarter errors span an estimated $30–$336,000, with exceptional Full Head overdates at the upper end. A peeling flake or faint clash does not automatically make an ordinary quarter equally valuable.
Check the date and mint letter first when comparing prices. Keep separate examples separate, leave fragile metal untouched, and remember that one coin carrying two unusual features still has one whole-coin value.