Coin Roll Hunting Nickels: What to Look For (and Keep)

Nickels don't get the attention halves do, but they're cheap to order and fast to search, and a box can still turn up 35% silver. This is what to pull, what to spend, and a routine that gets you through a box without missing the good stuff.

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Values change. Any prices below come from the linked PCGS pages and are for reference, not offers to buy or sell.

Why bother with nickels?

Silver. Wartime nickels contain 35% silver, and they still show up in rolls now and then.
Easy to start. Nickels are the second-cheapest denomination to search after pennies.
Fewer coins to check. There are only a few dates and varieties worth knowing, so you'll learn them quickly.

Go in with realistic expectations. One Collectors Universe member who searches whole boxes wrote that finding two war nickels in a 2,000-coin box makes for a good day, and some boxes have none.

The big one: silver war nickels (1942–1945)

In 1942 the U.S. needed nickel for the war, so the Mint switched five-cent pieces to an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese, and used it through 1945 (PCGS CoinFacts).

How to spot one in two seconds

Turn the coin over. A war nickel has a large P, D or S mint mark above the dome of Monticello (PCGS CoinFacts). Normal nickels from that era have a small mint mark beside the building, or none at all. These were the first U.S. coins to use a P for Philadelphia.

Worn war nickels often look darker or slightly greenish (PCGS). After a few boxes you'll start spotting them by color.

The 1942 trap

1942 was a changeover year, so not every 1942 nickel is silver. A 1942 with no big mint mark over the dome is regular copper-nickel (APMEX, PCGS). Always check the reverse, not just the date.

The 1944 with no big mint mark

Every genuine 1944 nickel has the large mint mark. A 1944 without it is almost certainly a Henning nickel, a counterfeit struck in New Jersey in the 1950s by Francis LeRoy Henning (PCGS). Many Hennings also have a small defect in the R of PLURIBUS (Numismatic News). Some collectors keep them as curiosities, but PCGS won't grade counterfeits. Set it aside, and don't sell it as a genuine coin.

Older nickels: Buffalos and Liberty heads

These are uncommon but do turn up in rolls. Keep them all:

Buffalo nickels (1913–1938). Even worn or dateless ones are worth keeping. Check any 1937-D for the famous 3-Legged variety, where one of the bison's front legs is missing. Real examples sell for hundreds of dollars and up at auction (PCGS auction prices), so get any candidate authenticated.
Liberty "V" nickels (1883–1912). Any of these in a roll is a keeper.

Jefferson nickels worth keeping

The simple rule many hunters use: keep any nickel dated 1960 or earlier and look it up later. Beyond the war nickels, here are the ones to know:

Coin	What to know
1939-D and 1950-D	Lowest-mintage regular Jeffersons (3,514,000 and 2,630,030). PCGS says circulated examples can be had for under $20, so they're nice finds rather than jackpots (PCGS).
1943-P 3 over 2	Overdate: traces of a 2 under the 3. A PCGS-recognized top variety (PCGS).
1949-D over S	An S mint mark punched under the D. Another top variety (PCGS).

After 1960, almost everything is spend-it money. You'll see huge numbers of some dates, like 1964, because the Mint struck so many.

Errors and varieties to check

These are long shots, but they're the ones hunters talk about:

2005-D "Speared Bison": a die break that leaves a raised line through the bison's back. PCGS says even moderately circulated examples trade for more than $50 (PCGS).
1971 proof with no S mint mark: a proof coin struck without its S. The Mint reported 1,655 made, and PCGS puts a base price around $800 (PCGS). It came in proof sets, so finding one in a roll is a real long shot.
1975-D "High D": the D sits up next to the 5 in the date instead of below it. NGC recognizes this variety but PCGS does not, and few are known (collector write-up). Treat it as a "get it checked" coin.
Doubling on the date or lettering, plus off-center strikes, on any date.

Put anything odd in a separate tube. Most "errors" turn out to be damage after the coin left the Mint, so check before you get excited.

A fast routine for searching a nickel box

Color pass. Fan out a handful and look for darker or greenish coins. Those are war nickel candidates.
Date pass. Flip through the dates. Anything 1960 or earlier goes in the "look again" pile, and so does any coin worn too smooth to read.
Reverse pass on the pile. Check for the big mint mark over the dome (silver), and pull any Buffalos and Libertys.
Variety pass. Check only for the few dates and varieties above. Don't inspect every coin under a loupe or you'll never finish.
Log it. Write down the box, the bank and what you found. The hunt log in our free Starter Checklist works for this.

Then roll the rejects back up and return them, following the etiquette in How to Get Coin Rolls From Your Bank. New to the gear side? See Coin Roll Hunting Supplies.

What to do with your finds

Store silver war nickels separately, in a labeled tube or flip.
Don't clean coins. Collectors pay less for cleaned ones.
Get possible errors or varieties checked before you sell. A real one may be worth grading with PCGS or NGC, and a fake or damaged one isn't.

For the full list of what to pull from every denomination, see What Coins Are Worth Keeping?. For the other denominations, see Penny Hunting 101 and Half Dollar Hunting.

FAQ

Are any nickels made after 1945 silver? No. In 1946 the Mint went back to the regular copper-nickel alloy (APMEX).

Can you still find war nickels in rolls? Yes, but it takes patience. Hunters report finding them in rolls and boxes from time to time (Collectors Universe).

How much is a war nickel worth? Most common-date war nickels are worth mainly their silver, so their value moves with the silver price. Check a current price guide before you buy or sell.