For coin history, see previous item #757. The years 1917 and 1918 saw an unprecedented production of small change at all of the US Mints. This heightened production was in response to a serious shortage of small denomination coinage, possibly caused by hoarding and the transportation of much small change overseas. More than 1,000,000 American soldiers served on European battlefields in the last two years of World War I, and every one of them carried at least a few cents and nickels. The coins were eagerly accepted by French merchants, who particularly liked the nickel. To make up for this drain on the domestic supply of coinage, all US Mints were working overtime in late 1917. One unintended consequence of this extra Mint activity was the production of several important overdates in the coinage of 1918. The overdate dies were created by a hubbing error that occurred in late 1917, when dies dated 1917 were still in use and dies for the next year were hurriedly manufactured. Both the quarters of the San Francisco Mint and the nickels of the Denver Mint are known in overdate varieties, and each variety is a prized rarity to collectors today. From the Robert M. Overstreet Collection and comes with COA.