ALL NEW!!! - 2027 Blue Books Now Available
Order Your Copy Today!
us

Patterns (1918) Values

Greysheet & Red Book® PRICE GUIDE

The Patterns (1918) series of Pattern Coinage in the U.S. Coins contains 5 distinct entries.

Pattern coins are experimental pieces that were produced by the United States Mint and served as prototypes of eventual coins. The popular reference United States Pattern Coins by J. Hewitt Judd lists some 2,000 types of pattern coins made since 1792, meaning those who collect pattern coins have plenty of objectives to keep them busy.

Unlike regular-issue coins, which are distributed into circulation through banks or sold by the US Mint directly to collectors and dealers, pattern coins were never necessarily intended to leave mint property. Often, pattern coins were clandestinely seized by their designers and engravers and sold to their friends or coin dealers. In other cases, patterns that were passed around to lawmakers for approval sometimes never made it back to US Mint officials and later passed on down within families or sold to numismatists.

Eventually, US Mint officials heightened guard on pattern coins, and thus pieces dating after the 19th century are rarely found outside museums or academic settings. Pattern coins are quite collectible, and many pieces are rare. Sometimes, coins that have long masqueraded as regular-issue pieces are patterns that have never been officially attributed as patterns. Thus, it pays to closely examine all coins -- especially older pieces -- to ensure they are not really pattern coins that have simply gone unnoticed.

From the Greysheet Marketplace

Live listings from Greysheet dealers
See all

Greysheet News

The Business of Numismatics: October 2026 Greysheet Editor's Letter
The Business of Numismatics: October 2026 Greysheet Editor's Letter

While reviewing the initial results in various categories of recent auctions, my initial take is that the sales were moderate to strong.

Mack C. Chase Collection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars to Anchor Stack's Bowers Galleries' November 2026 Showcase Auction
Mack C. Chase Collection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars to Anchor Stack's Bowers Galleries' November 2026 Showcase Auction

More than 300 lots, consisting of high quality Walking Liberty half dollars from the Mack C. Chase Collection are set to cross the auction block as part of Stack's Bowers Galleries' November Showcase Auction, the official auction of the Whitman Expo.

U.S. Coins and Jewelry acquires one of the rarest circulating coins in U.S. Mint history
U.S. Coins and Jewelry acquires one of the rarest circulating coins in U.S. Mint history

The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, graded Extra Fine by PCGS, was acquired from a family that held it unverified since the early 1960s.

Events

Knoxville Coin and Currency Show - TN
Knoxville Coin and Currency Show - TN Location: Rothchild Catering & Conference Center
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Coinacopia - FL
Coinacopia - FL Location: Coinacopia Building
Saturday, August 1, 2026
San Francisco Coin Show - CA
San Francisco Coin Show - CA Location: Fort Mason Gallery 308 Building A
Saturday, August 1, 2026