35% Silver Wartime Nickels | $1 Face Value

When World War II demanded nickel for armor plating, the US Mint pulled the metal from the five-cent piece and replaced it with silver, creating one of the quirkiest chapters in American coinage. This listing delivers $1 in face value, 20 wartime nickels, struck between 1942 and 1945 in the emergency alloy of 35% silver, 56% copper, and 9% manganese. Together they contain approximately 1.125 troy oz of actual silver, making war nickels one of the most overlooked bargains in constitutional silver.

Key Features:

• Purity and Weight: 35% silver, 5 grams per coin, approximately 1.125 troy oz of silver per $1 face value
• Metal Type: Silver alloy with copper and manganese
• Obverse Design: Felix Schlag’s portrait of Thomas Jefferson with LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the date
• Reverse Design: Monticello with a large mintmark above the dome, the wartime identifier

The obverse carries Felix Schlag’s left-facing portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the design that debuted in 1938, with IN GOD WE TRUST along the left rim and LIBERTY with the date on the right. The reverse shows Jefferson’s Virginia estate, Monticello, in architectural detail, framed by E PLURIBUS UNUM above and the denomination below.

What sets these apart is the oversized mintmark floating above Monticello’s dome, a P, D, or S placed there so the silver coins could be identified and pulled after the war. The Philadelphia “P” is a piece of history in itself, marking the first time that mint ever placed a mintmark on a US coin. Dates and mintmarks in this lot vary with available stock, and coins show honest circulation wear.

War nickels typically trade at lower premiums per silver ounce than 90% coinage, and their small unit size makes them a natural fit for barter stacks. The distinctive mintmark keeps them easy to sort from ordinary nickels at a glance.

Real wartime history and better than an ounce of silver per dollar of face make this a smart, affordable pickup. Order $1 face value of 35% silver war nickels today.