Collectors of the Standing Liberty Quarters series vie for rare dates like the first-year 1916 issue or the scarce 1921 and 1927-S semi-keys. However, the definitive key to this series may serve not as a regular issue but in the form of a variety – perhaps one of the rarest and most sought-after overdates of the 20th century. The 1918/7-S overdate is a rare coin in any grade, and especially in Mint States grades. Like so many other overdate varieties, this one arose when remnants of the “7” in the date failed to be completely erased before the “8” was inscribed into the die.
The official mintage for this coin is widely ensconced among the 11,072,000 pieces tallied among all 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarters. Leading authorities on the series know that the actual number of 1918/7-S overdates struck is significantly lower, numbering perhaps only a few thousand pieces. PCGS estimates only around 3,000 survive, though actual graded populations are much smaller still. The coin was first discovered around 1937 and has been recognized in the numismatic community sufficiently long enough for hoards to have been located. Yet, this coin remains highly rare nearly a century after it was first reported.
Values for the 1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter start in the four figures, speaking to just how rare and desirable this coin is, especially for enthusiasts of the Standing Liberty Quarter series. Examples in G4 retail for around $2,000, with examples in F12 essentially doubling that figure to $4,000. Specimens in the XF40 grade garner closer to $8,000, and in the grade of MS63 prices notch some $35,000.
Full Head (FS) specimens are extraordinarily rare, with PCGS estimating that only 50 survive with the Full Head details that collectors covet. A 1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter in the grade of MS63FH takes roughly $135,000, and the record price for the seemingly esoteric variety is a whopping $336,000, which was paid in 2020 for a PCGS-encapsulated example that was graded MS64+FH. As of this writing, none have been graded PCGS MS65FH.