How does one obtain the value of the silver content in a 1942-45 wartime nickel? I saw on kitco they have the pricing for 90% coinage, and the 40% half dollars but nothing for the 35% nickels. I know a nickel is thicker, and bigger around than a dime. Would 35% of that nickel have as much if not more silver than the dime? Thanks to any answers you may have!
Check out www.silvercoinstoday.com and www.coinflation.com they may be able to answer your questions! Melt value is somewhere around $1.30 or more I think.
Seriously?! Man, I should have grabbed all of them out of the dollar box at the last coin show! There had to have been 50 or more!
90% silver dimes have a gross weight of 2.5 grams; so they have 2.25 grams of pure silver or 0.072 troy ounces. 35% silver nickels have a gross weight of 5.0 grams; so they have 1.75 grams or pure silver or 0.056 troy ounces. War nickels currently melt at $1.65 while 90% silver dimes melt at $2.12.
Due to the composition of war nickels, they frequently fetch substantially less than their silver melt value due to the difficulty of extracting said silver from the coins.
Agree that most of the time nickles sell for less than melt value. A regular nickel has about 6c worth of metals in it, but we transact with it as 5c all the time. However, war nickles are like Wheat Back cents. No more are ever going to be made,
