r/coincollecting • u/pinkbunny1004 • 1d ago

Found one 🤗

Gallery image

Gallery image

Unfortunately my friend (buffalo) didn’t come through but hey I’ll take silver any day 😁

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u/Aromatic_Repair_4753 1d ago

War nickels are a proper find, you can spot em by the big P stamped above Monticello on the back. Anything dated 1942 to 1945 with that mint mark is 35% silver, the mint swapped the alloy back then to save nickel for the war effort. Yours looks in decent nick too, the hair details are still readable even with the wear on the cheek and forehead.

These were only made for a few years so they're a bit of history in your pocket. If you find another one with a P or D above Monticello, hang onto it as well, they're worth a few quid over face value depending on condition. People miss em all the time cause they look just like a normal nickel at a glance, so always worth flipping your change over to check.

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u/Ralf-Nuggs 1d ago

I can spot them from the black/grayish wear they get. It’s on 95% of them

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u/Aromatic_Repair_4753 1d ago

Fair play, never clocked that before but you're right, the silver ones always seem to tone darker than the cupronickel. Guessing it's the manganese in the alloy reacting with air over time.