MELT VALUES / MODERN
Jefferson Nickel (1938– )
Designer
Felix Schlag (1938); Jamie Franki/Joe Fitzgerald (2005-06 redesigns)
Years struck
1938–present
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver (D), San Francisco (S)
Continuous production since 1938; the 75/25 copper-nickel alloy is unchanged except the war years.
THE STORY
Schlag won a 390-entry public competition to replace the Buffalo nickel. The design has survived nearly ninety years with one interruption — the wartime silver alloy — and a brief 2004-06 Westward Journey redesign. At roughly 8-9 cents of production cost per coin, the nickel loses the Mint more money per piece than any other circulating denomination, and its 25% nickel content makes it a perennial candidate for composition change — which is exactly why some stackers put away nickels at face: it is the only US coin you can 'buy' at melt-adjacent value with zero premium and zero downside.
A $2 roll of nickels contains 200 grams of metal — hold one and you are holding almost half a pound of strategic metals at face value.
KEY DATES WORTH REAL MONEY
Check these before treating any coin as melt.
| 1939-D | 3.5M — the series semi-key |
| 1950-D | 2.6M — lowest circulation mintage; hoarded in rolls, so cheap in BU, scarce worn |
| Full Steps | Sharp strikes showing Monticello's steps command large premiums in any date |
Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling — and read our grading basics first.
SPECIFICATIONS
Grading: where wear shows first
Check Monticello's steps - Full Steps coins (5-6 sharp steps) carry large premiums because the design strikes softly there.
Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.
Counterfeit check
Rarely faked. The famous counterfeit is the 1944 'Henning nickel' - no mint mark above Monticello in a year that requires one.
Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
Why do people hoard nickels?
A nickel contains about 6-7 cents of copper and nickel at current prices, and it is the only US coin you can acquire at face value with melt value above face - zero-downside metal exposure (melting is currently illegal, so it is a bet on composition change or rule changes).
What years of nickels are silver?
Only mid-1942 through 1945 'war nickels', identified by the large mint mark above Monticello.
Coin image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain — US Mint (coin), National Numismatic Collection (photograph by Jaclyn Nash).
