Silver war nickels are one of the most unusual U.S. coins ever produced. Struck during World War II, these Jefferson nickels replaced the traditional copper-nickel alloy with a composition containing 35% silver.
Produced from late 1942 through 1945, war nickels are popular with both collectors and bullion buyers because even heavily circulated examples retain meaningful silver value.
What Are Silver War Nickels?
Silver war nickels were produced with a wartime alloy of:
| Metal | Composition |
|---|---|
| Silver | 35% |
| Copper | 56% |
| Manganese | 9% |
Each coin weighs 5 grams and contains approximately 0.05626 troy ounces of silver, or about 1.75 grams of pure silver.
A $1 face-value lot of 20 war nickels contains roughly 1.125 troy ounces of silver.
What Years Are Silver War Nickels?
Silver war nickels were struck from 1942 through 1945, but 1942 requires extra attention. The Mint changed compositions partway through 1942, so not every 1942 nickel contains silver. To identify a silver 1942 nickel, look for a large P or S mint mark above Monticello on the reverse. A 1942 nickel with no mint mark or a small D beside Monticello is not silver. All regular Jefferson nickels dated 1943, 1944 and 1945 were struck using the 35% silver wartime alloy.
How to Identify a Silver War Nickel
The easiest identifier is the oversized mint mark above Monticello.
War nickels carry one of three large letters:
P – Philadelphia
D – Denver
S – San Francisco
The 1942-P was also historically significant because it marked the first appearance of a Philadelphia “P” mint mark on a U.S. coin.
Do not rely on color alone. The manganese in the wartime alloy can cause circulated examples to develop dark gray or nearly black toning.
How Much Is a Silver War Nickel Worth?
For common circulated examples, value is usually closely tied to silver content.
The basic formula is:
Silver Spot Price × 0.05626 = Approximate Silver Value Per Coin
| Silver Price | Silver Value Per Nickel |
|---|---|
| $30/oz | $1.69 |
| $40/oz | $2.25 |
| $50/oz | $2.81 |
| $60/oz | $3.38 |
Actual buying and selling prices may vary based on premiums, condition and collector demand.
This makes ordinary circulated war nickels a form of constitutional silver, often grouped with pre-1965 silver dimes, quarters and half dollars.
Key Silver War Nickels to Know
A complete business-strike silver war nickel set contains 11 date-and-mint combinations. The standout regular issue is the 1943-D, with a mintage of just 15,294,000 coins, the lowest business-strike mintage in the wartime series. Other notable issues include the lower-mintage 1944-S and the scarce 1942-P Proof, of which only 27,600 were produced.
Collectors should also watch for the famous 1943/2-P overdate. On this variety, traces of the underlying “2” remain visible beneath the “3” in the 1943 date. Depending on grade and condition, this variety can be worth substantially more than its silver melt value.
Other collectible varieties include doubled-die examples from 1943, 1944 and 1945.
What Does “Full Steps” Mean?
On high-grade Jefferson nickels, collectors examine the steps at the base of Monticello. Coins showing sharply struck, uninterrupted steps may qualify for a Full Steps designation from a professional grading service. Because many wartime nickels were weakly struck, high-grade Full Steps examples can command significant premiums.
Are War Nickels Good for Silver Buyers?
War nickels offer a combination of bullion value and numismatic interest that few other U.S. coins match. Each coin contains a known amount of silver, but the denomination is often overlooked compared with 90% silver coinage. That can make them an appealing fractional silver option for collectors and stackers who also appreciate historical U.S. coinage.
Our Thoughts
If you come across a Jefferson nickel dated 1942 through 1945, flip it over and check above Monticello. A large P, D or S mint mark is the defining feature of a wartime silver nickel. Common examples are typically valued for their 0.05626 troy ounces of silver, while key dates, varieties, proofs and high-grade Full Steps coins may be worth considerably more. For bullion buyers and coin collectors, silver war nickels remain one of the most distinctive pieces of American wartime coinage.
