MELT VALUES / SILVER
Jefferson 'War' Nickel (1942–1945, 35% Silver)
Melt value now SNAPSHOT
$3.92
78.3× face value
Designer
Felix Schlag
Years struck
Mid-1942–1945
Mints
Philadelphia (P — first US coin ever to carry a P mint mark), Denver (D), San Francisco (S); large mint mark above Monticello
~870 million struck across the emergency alloy years.
THE STORY
Nickel was a war-critical metal for armor plating, so from October 1942 the five-cent piece switched to 56% copper, 35% silver, 9% manganese. To make the emergency coins easy to pull from circulation later, the Mint moved the mint mark above Monticello and enlarged it — Philadelphia's 'P' appearing on a US coin for the first time in history. They were never systematically withdrawn, which is why sharp-eyed roll hunters still occasionally find 78 times face value hiding in nickel rolls.
The counterfeiter Francis Henning struck fake 1944 nickels but forgot the mandatory large mint mark — the missing 'P' is how they were caught.
KEY DATES WORTH REAL MONEY
Check these before treating any coin as melt.
| 1943/2-P | Overdate variety — the series' famous error |
| 1944 (no mint mark) | Doesn't exist legitimately — any example is a famous Henning counterfeit |
Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling — and read our grading basics first.
SPECIFICATIONS
Grading: where wear shows first
War nickels tone dark and streaky because of the manganese - a dull gray-brown surface is normal, not damage.
Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.
Counterfeit check
Check the giant mint mark above Monticello - P, D, or S. No big mint mark, no silver, no exceptions.
Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
How much silver is in a war nickel?
0.05626 troy ounces - about $3.90 of silver at $69 spot, or 78 times face value. The highest melt-to-face ratio of any circulating-find US coin.
Can I still find war nickels in circulation?
Yes - they were never systematically withdrawn, and their dark toning camouflages them. Roll hunters still pull them regularly.
Coin image: Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 — Bobby131313.
