I’ve always found searching nickel rolls well worth my time.
Why is nickel roll hunting so rewarding?
Because I’ve found so many old, rare, and valuable nickels in rolls over the years!
Coin roll hunting nickels is such a fascinating way to look for cool coins. It has even inspired my wife to get interested in nickel roll searching. Now she searches through coin rolls, too.
You may be wondering what makes nickel roll searching different than hunting through, say, rolls of pennies.
And I’ll tell you… It really comes down to these 2 things:
- Generally, fewer people look through rolls of nickels than they do penny rolls.
- Fewer people collect nickels or seem to know what nickels they should be looking for.
So, the opportunities are greater, and the chances are better that you’ll find old or rare nickels when searching nickel rolls!
Are you ready to start coin roll hunting nickels?
In this article, I will cover:
- What You Can Realistically Expect To Find In Nickel Rolls
- Exactly Which Nickels You Should Be Looking For In Rolls
- What To Look For On Liberty Nickels And Buffalo Nickels
- Why You Should Save All Jefferson Nickels Prior To 1960
- Which Jefferson Nickels After 1960 To Keep
How much does a roll of nickels cost?
Answer: $2! You give the clerk at your local bank $2 and they hand you a roll of 40 U.S. nickels.
What To Expect When Nickel Coin Roll Hunting
I’m going to break it to you now before you even get to opening that first roll of nickels…
Many folks reading this article may be here because they saw a reel on social media with someone talking about all the rare and valuable nickels you can find searching nickel rolls. They may have even held up to the screen or flashed the image of a really valuable nickel in the reel. They’ve probably made it sound like if you just go out to the bank today and get a roll or two of nickels, you’re going to be sitting on a pile of cash tomorrow when you sell your valuable nickel roll search finds to the coin dealer near you.
But the truth is that’s simply NOT how searching through coin rolls will go more than 99% of the time.
I want to help you manage your expectations before you start hunting that first roll of nickels and turn up little, if anything, worth more than face value.
However, there absolutely is a chance — and a good one — that you’re going to find some old or valuable nickels worth more than face value IF:
- You’re persistent
- You know which nickels you should be looking for
- You keep searching (even when it seems like you just keep turning up dud roll after dud roll)
How do I know this? Because I’ve been a coin collector for more than 30 years and I’ve searched my fair share of nickels rolls, let me tell you!
For all the duds I’ve turned up in coin rolls and circulation in general, I’ve also found:
- Liberty nickels
- Buffalo nickels
- Silver war nickels
- Die cracks
- Off-center errors
- Mintmark varieties
- Proofs
- And more
And that’s my point: there really are old, rare, and valuable nickels to be found when searching through rolls. But you must be patient and enjoy nickel roll hunting as a hobby — not as a get-rich-quick venture!
What Nickels Should You Be Looking For?
I’m about to give you the rundown on what my wife and I look for when coin roll hunting nickels.
Here’s a word of advice: have a really good coin magnifier with you when searching coin rolls.
Sometimes in the excitement of peeling into a roll of coins, I’ll forget to have my coin loupe with me. It’s not usually huge deal for me to look through a roll of coins without a loupe because my vision is thankfully still 20/20. But even I will have a tough time discerning a very small detail, such as a minor doubled die.
If you’re looking to buy the best coin collecting magnifier or coin loupe, choose one with 5X to 10X magnification.
#1 – Look For Liberty and Buffalo Nickels
I’ve found at least one Liberty nickel and Buffalo nickel during roll searches. That’s reason enough for me to keep searching for Liberty nickels and Buffalo nickels while roll searching.
These old and valuable nickels are definitely worth looking for:
- Liberty nickels are worth around $2 apiece… or more
- Buffalo nickel values start at around 25 to 50 cents for dateless examples, and $1 and up for those with dates
Values are much higher for scarcer dates of Liberty nickels and Buffalo nickels, or examples in better condition.
#2 – Save All Jefferson Nickels Prior To 1960
The main thing I’m always looking for when searching rolls of nickels is any Jefferson nickel struck before 1960.
Most of these dates are almost always worth at least a few times over face value — even in well-worn condition.
What are the key dates to look for in nickels?
Below is a list of values for Jefferson nickels made before 1960 that are worth around 25 to 50 cents or more in circulated grades. Also included in this list are the silver war nickel values.
- 1938 nickel (no mintmark) – 50 cents
- 1938-D nickel – $1
- 1938-S nickel – $1.50
- 1939-S nickel – 50 cents
- 1942-D over horizontal D nickel – $1
- 1942-P nickel – $2
- 1942-S nickel – $2
- 1943-P nickel – $2
- 1943/2-P nickel – $50
- 1943-P Doubled Eye nickel – $25
- 1943-D nickel – $2
- 1943-S nickel – $2
- 1944-P nickel – $2
- 1944-D nickel – $2
- 1944-S nickel – $2
- 1945-P nickel – $2
- 1945-P Doubled Die Reverse nickel – $20
- 1945-D nickel – $2
- 1945-S nickel – $2
- 1949-D/S nickel – $60
- 1949-S nickel – 30 cents
- 1950 nickel (no mintmark) – 50 cents
- 1950-D nickel – $10
- 1951 nickel (no mintmark) – 25 cents
- 1951-D nickel – 25 cents
- 1951-S nickel – 50 cents
- 1952-D nickel – 20 cents
- 1955 nickel (no mintmark) – 25 cents
- 1955 D/S nickel – $20
- 1958 nickel (no mintmark) – 20 cents
#3 – Search For These Jefferson Nickels After 1960
Most of the Jefferson nickels after 1960 that you’ll find searching rolls can be spent as regular money.
You’re going to find an abundance of certain dates. And I’ve even had people ask me, “Why do you find so many 1964 nickels?” and such.
The answer is that the U.S. Mint made hundreds of millions of certain dates — or as in the case of 1964 nickels, billions! So, yes, you’re going to find clusters of certain Jefferson nickels from particular years. That makes them extra common.
That being said, there are certain Jefferson nickel errors made since the 1960s that you should be looking for.
These include:
- 1971 No S proof nickel (not issued for circulation but possible to find in rolls) — $1,000+
- 1975-D High D nickel (an error where the D mintmark sits to the left of the 5 in the date) — $500+
- 2005-D Speared Bison nickel (a long, vertical die crack runs through the bison) — $100+
You should also look for all other errors and varieties when you’re coin roll hunting nickels — some of them can be quite valuable. My wife and I always make sure to hold aside anything that looks unusual so we can later determine if it’s a mint error or just post-mint damage.
Good luck!
And if you have any questions about nickel coin roll hunting, remember that you can always drop a line here in the comments below.
READ NEXT: A List Of Rare U.S. Nickels
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century.
I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek.
I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
