War Nickels
During World War II, the Jefferson Nickel series underwent a significant change. Since nickel was identified as a strategic metal for the war effort, the composition of the five cent piece was changed to a composition of 35% silver, 9% manganese, and 56% copper. The Silver War Nickels (Buy on eBay) minted from 1942 to 1945 create an interesting short set within the broader series.
Silver War Nickels; Skip to page navigation. Silver War Nickels. Side Refine Panel. Shop by Category. Nickels; Jefferson (1938-Now) Shield (1866-83) Liberty. As nickel was a strategic war material during World War II, nickels coined from 1942 to 1945 were struck in a copper-silver-manganese alloy which would not require adjustment to vending machines. They bear a large mint mark above the depiction of Monticello on the reverse.
During the War Years in the United States, the Jefferson War Nickels were manufactured with a small percentage of silver as to conserve the nickel supply. Nickel was used strategically for military purposes. So, in 1942, the nickel.
Production of the first “Wartime Nickels” began at the Philadelphia Mint on October 8, 1942. Earlier in the year nickels had been produced with their standard compositions. To identify the coins struck with the new composition, a large sized mint mark was placed on the reverse of the coins, above Monticello. The mintmarks “P”, “D”, or “S” were used for the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. Notably, this was the first time that a mint mark had been used for coins produced in Philadelphia.
Silver Jefferson Nickels were produced through 1945, after which point the composition would revert to the previous standard. During the four years of production, the US Mint had struck more than 870 million of the 35% silver nickels. A complete set will include 11 coins, 1942 P-S, 1943 P-D-S, 1944-P-D-S, and 1945 P-D-S. The 1942-P Silver Jefferson Nickel was also struck in proof format with a mintage of 27,600 coins. All coins remain readily available even in uncirculated grades, although some issues are more difficult to find with full steps.
Definition: The United States of America declaration of war against the Axis Powers in January of 1942 called for critical war materials to be stockpiled. One of those materials — nickel — was used in the making of the Jefferson five-cent piece. On March 27, 1942, with authorization from Congress, the material composition of the five-cent piece was changed from 75% copper / 25% nickel to 56% copper/ 35% silver / 9%manganese.
In October of 1942 this new alloy was first used in the striking of nickels. Along with this change of composition, the mintmark was made larger and placed on the reverse of the coin over Monticello. For the first time the “P” mintmark was used to designate coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
The Denver Mint had completed its allotted run of nickels before the change had been made. In 1942, the San Francisco and the Philadelphia Mints were the only mints to strike the new alloy Jefferson nickels, nicknamed “War nickels”.
With the Philadelphia mint striking both new and old-alloy nickels, two versions appear from that mint in that year; one without a mintmark and the other with the P-mintmark on the reverse of the coin.
War Nickels Set
The above images show the location of the mintmark above Monticello on the “war nickels”. The mintmark in prior years had been placed to the right of Monticello, with the exception of coins struck by the Philadelphia mint which did not have a mintmark.
War Nickels Below Spot
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.