Wondering how to tell a silver nickel from a regular one without special tools? This video shows you EXACTLY how to identify these valuable war nickels.
We’ll explore which nickels are silver and why these war nickels are worth significantly more than their face value.
Start your coin collecting journey today by learning to spot these rare nickels!
⚡TIMESTAMPS⚡
00:00 Intro
00:32 Can You Spot The Silver Nickels?
01:08 What U.S. Nickels Are Made From
02:01 1942-1945 Silver War Nickels Explained
03:01 How To Tell A Silver Nickel From A Regular Nickel
03:40 Look At The Reverse (Tail’s Side)
04:05 Large Mintmarks On Nickels Explained
05:30 What You Will NEVER Find On A “Regular” Nickel
05:54 Yes, You Can Find Silver Nickels In Circulation Today!
06:30 How Much A Silver Nickel Is Worth Today
06:48 How To Find The Current Value Of Silver
07:42 Summary
============================
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey everybody! This is Josh with the US Coins Guide and today I’m talking about silver nickels.
Two things about them:
(A) How do you tell apart a silver nickel from a regular nickel without the use of a scale or magnifying glass?
And (B) How much are silver nickels actually worth? Well, I’ll give you a hint. They’re worth a whole lot more than face value.
So, what are silver nickels actually worth? And how do you tell apart a regular nickel versus a silver nickel? Stay tuned…
So, we have here 4 nickels. One is a 1946 nickel, we have a 1940 nickel, a 1944 nickel, and a 1943 nickel. They’re all from the same period, roughly… 1940s. They might appear basically similar in terms of color and even the wear, kind of, is more or less the same. We’re in the same kind of mid-range (low to mid-range grade) here.
But these are very different coins. I’m going to tell you exactly HOW they’re different and WHY they’re different in a minute.
First things first, let’s talk about nickels and what they’re made from…
Historically, a United States nickel (or 5-cent coin) is made from 75% copper and 25% nickel.
So, that’s exactly right, folks… The alloy for a generally traditional 5-cent coin in the U.S. is actually mostly copper — not nickel.
But the name nickel has stuck for decades now. It’s basically used to describe a 5-cent coin. It’s a colloquial term, of course. Because a nickel really is not mostly nickel… it’s copper. But that’s the way things roll sometimes when it comes to idioms in the United States lingo, in English.
And that’s okay. Because we, I think most of us who are watching this video in the United States, or those who are attuned to American numismatics know what I mean when I’m talking about a nickel.
In 1942, World War II was raging. The U.S. was involved in the war — the international conflict involving so many countries around the world.
And part of the war effort, if you will, was to ration materials that were important for fighting in the war. And one of those very important metals would be nickel — which is very durable and was used in so many different kinds of artillery.
And therefore, on October 8th, 1942 the U.S. Mint with congressional approval began striking 5-cent coins from a 35% silver composition. Now the other part of that composition was 56% copper and 9% manganese.
And in 19… late 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, the U.S. Mint struck Jefferson nickels, so to speak, out of the 35% silver alloy.
Now, how do you tell apart a silver nickel from a regular nickel?
Here’s the problem… Both silver nickels AND regular nickels weigh 5 grams, more or less. That’s the spec weight though… 5 grams.
So, you really can’t use a scale to tell the two coins apart. And really, you don’t even need a coin loupe or magnifying glass to tell apart the differences from a silver versus regular nickel.
I mean, some of you MIGHT need a magnifying glass. But most folks with generally normal vision, so to speak (or typical vision) will NOT need a magnifying glass.
So, how do you tell the two coins apart? How do you tell apart a silver nickel from a regular nickel?
Let’s go ahead and flip these nickels from their “heads side” or obverse to reverse or “tails side”. And let’s see if you catch the differences between these two types of coins.
And before I talk about it, let me know in the comments below if you’ve already spotted or know the difference between the two kinds of coins.
If you don’t know, don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for. I’m going to tell you right now…
Take a look at these two coins. We see here Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia home (his private residence).
By the way, I can tell you that my wife and I have visited Monticello on multiple occasions. It is well worth the trip! It’s a beautiful grounds. The whole property.
And I have to say… I waited for years to get a picture of myself holding a Jefferson nickel with the Monticello side facing the camera in front of the actual Monticello! And it’s a selfie that I highly prize. And I guarantee… Well, I can’t guarantee you. But I can almost assure you… if you and yours visit Monticello in Virginia, you’re going to, I think, really enjoy the experience.
So, do check out Monticello — this building right here — in Virginia.
If you look above the dome of Monticello on these two coins, something probably stands out. There’s a big… like a mint letter stamp or a mint mark.
And in this case, on both these coins, you see a “P” for Philadelphia — or the Philadelphia Mint. You’ll also find potentially a “D” (as in dog) for the Denver Mint. Or an “S” (as in Sammy) for the San Francisco Mint.
So you’ll find either a P, a D, or an S above the dome of Monticello on ALL 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 silver war nickels.
Whereas you will NOT find any mintmark at all above the dome of Monticello on regular nickels.
So that folks is the key difference! War nickels contain a big mint mark above the dome of Monticello. And regular nickels do not contain the mint mark above the Monticello.
That’s a VERY easy way to tell the two coins apart!
And you CAN find, believe it or not, you can find silver war nickels in circulation to this day.
As a matter of fact, I actually found this one right here in pocket change from a Johnny Rockets fast food restaurant many years ago. And that’s when I found this one right here.
And then this one I found looking through rolls of Jefferson nickels.
And we have here on the U.S. Coins Guide all kinds of videos that talk about what valuable nickels and other coins to look for — all while looking through rolls. So please check those videos out. You’ll probably be inspired — I hope anyway — to look through coins, rolls of coins yourself. And look for coins like these right here — these valuable silver nickels.
And speaking of value… What’s a silver nickel worth?
Here’s the phrase you may not want to hear: It depends.
Now, I know you’re going, “Oh, that’s a cop out, Josh. You’re not giving me the value of a nickel, a silver nickel. What’s it really worth?”
I can’t tell you because the problem is… silver nickel values fluctuate based on the silver price. Right now, the price of an ounce of silver, it’s over $90 an ounce believe it or not.
So, we’re talking about each of these two coins being worth about $5 bucks a pop JUST in silver value.
A couple years ago when silver was maybe closer to $20 bucks an ounce, these were worth closer to $2 bucks a piece, or a buck fifty, or somewhere in there — based on, you know, what coin dealer you sold the coins to, what they were paying for silver, and all that kind of stuff.
So if you want to find out what YOUR silver nickel is worth you’ve got to go check out the current silver price.
Now, we talk about silver prices here on the U.S. Coins Guide channel as well as on the UScoinsGuide.com website where we have all kinds of articles that talk about silver values, and war nickels, and all things you’re going to want to know about when looking for valuable silver nickels.
So, I hope that this has answered your questions for you as to what a silver nickel is worth. Or at least how to FIND the value of a silver nickel (A), and (B) how to tell these two coins apart — the silver from the regular nickels.
As you see, it’s really easy to tell these two coins apart once you know what to look for.
And I wish you all the best when looking for silver nickels in circulation, or in rolls, or bags of coins, or what have you.
So, I appreciate your time. Thank you for watching this video. Please like this video if you enjoyed it. Share it with your friends and loved ones. Subscribe to the U.S. Coins Guide channel.
And most of all… Happy Collecting!
