1904 Half Dollar Error List with Pictures
The Duckor 1904-S half dollar sold for $138,000 in 2010. This exceptional MS67 coin has a thin raised line across Liberty’s lower bust and another faint line on her cap.
These 1904 half dollar errors also include reported off-center strikes with much more obvious missing design. Estimates range from $150 to $138,000 across the very different coins described here.
Read on to see which marks identify each type and what the prices actually compare.
1904 Barber Half Dollar Off-Center Strike Error (Estimated Up to $1,000)
The date may remain readable while letters elsewhere disappear beyond the edge. On an off-center strike, what survives depends on the direction of the shift as well as its size.
Some metal stays blank. That part lay outside the dies, the steel tools stamping the two designs, while the rest received the coin’s images.
The 1904 error guide reports this type for Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco. It does not name a certified example from each mint, so the surviving date and mintmark area still need to be checked on an actual coin.
Estimated Value
Use an estimated $150–$1,000 for circulated examples with readable dates. The year guide gives prices from $150 to over $1,000, depending on the coin.
A recent comparison comes from another series. A 1976 Kennedy half, fifteen percent off center and graded NGC MS64, sold for $480 at Heritage in December 2025.
That unworn coin has a different date, metal, and design. It shows a price for the same kind of striking fault, not a recorded 1904 Barber sale.
How to Identify
Read whatever mintmark area survives. An O means New Orleans and an S means San Francisco; Philadelphia has no letter.
The area must be intact before a missing letter can mean Philadelphia. If that part never received the design, the absence tells you nothing about the mint.
Use a 10× magnifier on the blank crescent and inspect both faces for shifted designs. Cut edges or filing marks suggest metal removed later, while a centered opposite face suggests only one die moved.
A scale and calipers compare the normal 12.50 grams and 30.6 mm. The outline and edge grooves can change during the faulty strike; confirming untouched blank metal and readable identity on both faces is the quickest useful check.
1904-S Barber Half Dollar Obverse Die Crack Error (Up to $138,000)
A fine raised line crosses the sloping bottom edge of Liberty’s bust on the Duckor 1904-S half. Another, much fainter line appears on her cap.
These came from cracks in the front die. Silver entered the openings in that stamping tool and left raised lines on the coin, without splitting the coin itself.
Heritage also noted roller lines, marks left from preparing the metal before striking. The back had no matching cracks; keep those preparation marks separate from the two raised lines on the front.
Estimated Value
This PCGS MS67 CAC coin sold for $138,000 at Heritage in August 2010. PCGS records the same coin at $91,062.50 in August 2015.
Estimate $90,000–$138,000 for an exceptional MS67 coin of this quality. MS67 indicates superb preservation without circulation wear.
The rare San Francisco coin and its condition drive that price level. The cracks help identify it, but do not give a worn coin the same value; demand can also change between auctions.
How to Identify
Follow the lower edge of Liberty’s bust with a 10× magnifier, then move to the cap. The second line is much fainter, so adjust the light rather than assuming it must look equally strong.
A raised line catches light differently from a scratch cut into the surface. Keep the fine roller marks separate from the two described cracks.
Check the S below the eagle’s tail. For a coin outside a holder, a scale and calipers compare its normal 12.50 grams and roughly 30.6-mm diameter; the edge should have reeding, or narrow grooves.
Compare the whole front too. Matching both the bust line and cap line to the Duckor photograph provides the fastest confirmation of this particular example.
Conclusion
The estimated ranges are $150–$1,000 for circulated off-center coins and $90,000–$138,000 for an exceptional MS67 like the Duckor 1904-S. That wide gap comes from the coins’ rarity and condition, not simply the size of their errors.
Look for the right evidence. An off-center coin needs blank metal beside shifted designs; the Duckor comparison needs the two raised lines across the lower bust and on the cap.