35% silver · 1942–1945
Jefferson war nickel melt value
For three years the five cent piece contained silver. Nickel was needed for the war, so from late 1942 to 1945 the Jefferson nickel was struck in a 35% silver alloy instead.
Melt value, one coin
—
0.0563 ozt silver · 35% silver
- Silver content
- 0.0563 ozt
- Struck weight
- 5 g
- Silver spot
- —
- Per $1 face
- —
The silver price shown was recorded when this page was published. Figures calculated from it appear once the live price loads, so nothing here is worked out from a number the market may have left behind.
Value a lot
Count only jefferson war nickels from 1942–1945. Coins outside those years look similar and hold different silver, or none.
Melt value of the lot
1.125 ozt of silver
—
Face value of the lot
What the coins say they are worth
$1.00
Common lots
| Lot | Jefferson war nickels | Silver | Melt value |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 faceFour quarters | 20 | 1.13 ozt | — |
| $5 faceA half roll of quarters | 100 | 5.63 ozt | — |
| $10 faceA common small lot | 200 | 11.25 ozt | — |
| $50 faceA half bag | 1,000 | 56.26 ozt | — |
| $100 faceThe standard trading unit | 2,000 | 112.53 ozt | — |
Before you sell
War nickels are identified by a large mintmark — P, D or S — above the dome of Monticello on the reverse. No other Jefferson nickel carries a mintmark in that position, so a whole jar can be sorted by reverse alone.
Melt is a ceiling on the metal, not an offer. A buyer pays a share of it, and the spread between two buyers on the same lot is routinely wider than the entire premium difference this site tracks between bullion dealers.
How this is calculated
5 g × 35% ÷ 31.1035 = 0.0563 troy ounces of silver, multiplied by the live silver spot price.
The silver weight is derived from how the coin was struck rather than copied from a reference table, and a test pins it to the published figure of 0.05626 ozt.
Other US silver coin series
- Barber dime0.0723 ozt—
- Mercury dime0.0723 ozt—
- Roosevelt dime0.0723 ozt—
- Barber quarter0.1808 ozt—
- Standing Liberty quarter0.1808 ozt—
- Washington quarter0.1808 ozt—
- Barber half dollar0.3617 ozt—
- Walking Liberty half dollar0.3617 ozt—
- Franklin half dollar0.3617 ozt—
- 1964 Kennedy half dollar0.3617 ozt—
- Morgan dollar0.7735 ozt—
- Peace dollar0.7735 ozt—
- 1965–1970 Kennedy half dollar0.1479 ozt—
- Eisenhower silver dollar0.3162 ozt—
All 15 silver coin series we value, including the face-value calculator for pricing a mixed lot.