1908 50C G4 Certification #41385291, PCGS #6512

Ron Guth

The 1908 Half Dollar is a surprisingly scarce date.  It is almost twice as rare as the 1907 in Mint State and it is far less available than the 1909.  The bulk of the Mint State population of the 1908 rests around the MS64 level, indicating that the quality of the surviving examples is quite high.  Part of this is due to the strong strike quality of this date, a general minimizing of bagmarks in transport, and, of course, the care with which collectors have preserved their coins.  Approximately a dozen examples are known in MS66 above, with none known above MS67.  As is oftne the case with many high-end Barber Half Dollars, the names Hugon, Price, Shireman, and Duckor figure prominently (these are all collectors who assembled superb collections of Barber Half Dollars, often with the assistance of the late David Akers, a dealer with one of the best "eyes" in the business).

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David Akers

This is a distinctly underrated issue, at least in comparison to the Philadelphia Mint issues of 1906 and 1907 with which it is generally associated as far as rarity is concerned. Actually, the 1908 is considerably more rare than either of those two dates when one considers all available grades, although in Gem condition, they are rather similar.