Silver Nickels?
 

Does anyone search for silver nickels? I understand they used silver during WWII to conserve other metals. Does anyone do this and if so how successful are you?

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

I haven't seen a war nickel in circulation for more than 40 years. They are occasionally found I'm sure...folks clean out a drawer or a box in a closet, attic, basement, garage, etc., and unaware of coin value, just spend them. Or maybe give them to the kids or grandkids who spend 'em.

That said, I've been told over the years by 3 or 4 people that while nickel and other metals were indeed needed for war materials in the early '40's, that silver was added to the alloy because there was a belief that people would feel better - be more comfortable in those troubled times, if they had a smaller then ten-cents denonination coin with intrinsic value. In those days a nickel has purchasing power.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

worth maybe $1 each to private parties, because of the silver content. no one else would touch them.

I hear the average rate of find is 1 per box of nickels. That's .05% chance. Not worth it unless you're already buying the nickels as a hedge.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

There is 1.125 Oz of silver in each $1 face value of war nickels. Which means .028125 oz of silver per nickel. Not very stinking much.

They will always have SOME value, whether or not you can get a dealer to take them is something else. I wouldn't just throw them away if I had them (and I do...I own $20.05 face in Silver War Nickels and when I'd 70 (in 46 years) they may be worth it to sell). I wouldn't buy them though if you're looking for a silver investment though. Too hard to liquidate in an emergency. It would be a very long buy and hold speculation/gamble to get them for investment.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Not to argue that point but my understanding of it was that the alloy requires too much energy to separate than is feasible for the end product. There are far better sources widely available to bother with than that particular hard-case.

Edit:
Okay, i just re-read your post and you are saying the same thing. I had originally interpreted your post to say that the level of silver smelting activity was small, not the content of the silver in the coin.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

But your point is valid that war nickels would be very difficult to refine. The manganese content makes it problematic.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

I bought a box of nickels to fill in some missing dates in a modern set, and I found two silver war nickels. I like them, because the ratio of their intrinsic value to face value is the highest for all old silver coins in the US. As of today, one mercury dime is intrinsically worth 1027.93% of it's face value, while a war nickel is intrinsically worth 1599.01% of it's face.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

"...As of today, one mercury dime is intrinsically worth 1027.93% of it's face value, while a war nickel is intrinsically worth 1599.01% of it's face."

Considering intrinsic value related to face value of a U.S. coin based in U.S. dollars may well be mute with the value of the dollar so near and heading for, the tank.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

QWAK,Just a little known FACT.

During WW2 Because COPPER was needed for the WAR effort part of the PENTAGON was WIRED with SILVER WIRE!:yes::yes::yes:

After the war the SILVER wire was removed and replaced with COPPER WIRE!:yes::shine:

Check it out --it's TRUE!:yes:


the DUCK

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

I don't know about the Pentagon story, but it is a known fact that tons of silver was removed from the Treasury Dept for wire windings on electromagnets, used in the Manhattan Projects. These electromagnets were part of the "calutrons", electromagnetic separators of U235, used in the first atomic bomb.

Don't know if it was returned or not, doubt it.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Wartime nickels
From mid-1942 to 1945, so-called "Wartime" composition nickels were created. These coins are 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese.[2] The only other U.S. coins to use manganese are the Sacagawea and presidential dollars. These coins are usually a bit darker than regular nickels, said to be due to their manganese content (as was true of many British coins minted from 1920 through 1947). However, carefully-protected proof sets of these coins are difficult to tell from the standard alloy. A more likely reason for the darker appearance of the wartime coin was due to exposure to sulfur during circulation, which invariably gave the coins a mild and somewhat distinctive dark silver tarnish.[citation needed]


Wartime nickel featuring the large mint mark D
The wartime nickel features the largest mint mark ever to grace a United States coin, located above Monticello's dome on the reverse. This mark was a large D or S if appropriate for those mints, but nickels of this series minted in Philadelphia have the unique distinction of being the only U.S. coins minted prior to 1979 to bear a P mint mark. There are eleven coins in the regular series (plus a moderately scarce overdate, the 1943/2-P), and they can be purchased in circulated condition at low cost. When the price of silver rose in the 1960s the "war nickels" quickly disappeared from circulation, a process often aided by their distinctive silver-tarnish appearance, which sometimes appeared in banded form from contact of coins with sulfur-containing elastic bands in pockets.
An unofficial variety of the wartime coin dated 1944 was made in 1954 when counterfeit nickels were produced by Francis LeRoy Henning of Erial, New Jersey. He had previously been arrested for counterfeiting $5 bills. The 1944 nickels were quickly spotted since Henning neglected to add the large mintmark.[3] He also made counterfeit nickels dated 1939, 1946, 1947, and possibly 1953 as well as one other unidentified date.[4] It is estimated that more than 100,000 of Henning's nickels reached circulation. These can still be found in pocket change, and there is a thriving collectors' market for them, although owning a counterfeit is technically illegal. Henning dumped another 200,000 nickels in Copper Creek, New Jersey, of which only 14,000 were recovered. Another 200,000 are thought to have been dumped in the Schuylkill River. When caught, Henning was sentenced to 3 years in jail, and was required to pay a $5,000 fine.

NOT EVEN WORTH HEDGING!!! stick to Pennies!
Value 0.05 U.S. dollar
Mass 5.000 g (0.1615 troy oz)
Diameter 21.21 mm (0.835 in)
Thickness 1.95 mm (0.077 in)
Edge Plain
Composition 75% Copper
25% Nickel

"Wartime Nickels" (mid-1942 to 1945)
56% Copper
35% Silver
9% Manganese
Years of minting 1866 – present (except 1922, 1932, and 1933)

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

If I get bored with searching for copper pennies, I might do an occasional box of nickels. But my yields of silver war nickels is maybe 1 per box at best. To me, it's just not worth doing roll searching for the purpose of finding these, but of course I'll keep them if I find them.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

I've heard of luck in dimes (boxes)

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Why would you say that nickels aren't worth holding versus 95% Cu pennies? US nickels would be very useful as a ready source of cupronickel (if the melting ban is lifted), providing the melt content is worth more than face. The 5% Zn content of pennies makes them much more problematic for a metals producer than nickels are.
People forget that the main driver behind the composition change of war nickels was the diversion of the available nickel into armor plate, stainless steel, etc. I'm surprised that any copper was used in them at all; the US should have just minted steel nickels, like the pennies in this period.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

They are fun to find.. Detectorists count them as Silver Finds. So far,this year I've picked off three War nickels. And, $2.25 in silver coins.....oldest being a 1910 Barber P dime in a strong "very good"..This the last day of Sept, the season now goes to solid ground time. With a bunch of old houses, and a couple of leads on lost rings, might have a good time. Maybe, even find enough clad for a Rum'nCoke Cordially NAD if the pics post, last two hours out, only showing silver

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

I have gotten one in change, and never expect to see another that way.

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off the top of my head, prospectors average 1 per $100 box of nickels.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Going through my old nickels my son found a 1960 that has a cross on the back stamped in the capital building.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

this relates to a question that comes up a lot on GIM - how much does appearance & brand affect the value of a silver or gold product ?

most of the time, when i see a silver nickel, my reaction is "ugh". it's not like finding a nice old Mercury, however worn. once i found a Barber (Liberty ?) nickel on a bus - worn but, looking good.

the circumstance where gold & silver rise greatly in value is the circumstance where the general public becomes interested in PM's as an investment.

when i showed a 1 oz. silver round to my nephews & nieces in San Diego, they all said the same thing, "Cooool ! How much is it worth ?"

if a newcomer pays $20 for an ounce of silver or $1100 for an ounce of gold, will they want the 'nice shiney one' or will they accept a cull ?

so i wonder, who makes the market for circulated (non-numismatic) war nickels ?

FWIW, the 2010 Blue Book lists all the war dates at .60 in conditions VG to VG. it lists common date Roosevelt's at $1.20 & common date Mercury's at $1.30

so, basically, 12 x face, for both silver dimes & silver nickels - in the Blue Book. but i'm not sure how many dealers rely on the Blue Book.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

You can get maybe $1 per nickel sold to private party. More if sold on ebay. Most bullion guys wont touch the stuff though.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Ok, I'll tell my silver nickel story. My wife works for a bank as a head teller and has all the other tellers trained to bring her all the "strange" or "funny" or old money they get. Of course I long ago trained her to grab any silver that caught her eye, but since I never messed with them I never taught her about war nickels. Once day about 6 or so months ago she calls me during the day and tells me that someone had brought $200 worth of nickels in to get paper and each roll had a year and mint marked on them and the teller that took them just told her about it. To be honest, even I didn't think "silver", my first thought was buffalo nickels. Anyway, I told her to buy them and bring them home. When I got home they were sitting on my desk. Once I sorted them I ended up with 37 rolls of silver nickels (41.63 oz) at todays price which I paid a total of $74 for ($1.77/oz).

BTW - you chances of getting any silver from her branch is slim to none. I get first dibbs on anything interesting. :9536:

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

That's awesome. Worth over $700 easily to the limited number of investors that want them..

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Woke up in the middle of my sleep thinking "wait there are 40 nickels in a roll you idiot, not 20". So that means 83.27 oz in 37 rolls - even better. Yes, there is a limited market for them and I would not buy any at spot, but those rolls go in the other things that I intend on passing on to the kids one day.

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Re: Silver Nickels?
 

Whoops. my calculation was way off too.

37 rolls * 40 ($2/roll) * $1 per wn = $1480