Just got this '43 D 5C in a new NGC slab not marked silver (1st pic)...looking at specific MS 66 5FS coins (2nd pic), the slab is marked SILVER. Doing a search for all '43 D MS 66 NGC, none are marked SILVER...any ideas why?
Just a guess, but typically they don't put designations on coins when there is only one option. Example: Seated coins from 1873 have both with and without arrows, so it goes on the label. It is assumed that your 1943 D nickel is silver, so no need for the designation. 1942 on the other hand had both wartime alloy, and regular copper nickel. Steel cents are a bit different where there were no regularly intended copper coins, but some were made, so sometimes you will see steel on the slab, even though we know 99.9999999999999 of the 1943 cents are steel.
The 1942P is marked SILVER because there were both nickel and silver 1942P types struck. The 1943D was only struck in silver, so there is nothing to differentiate. Typically NGC will only include additional information on the label when there are multiple types with that date/MM for that denomination. Normally they do it with an additional second line, but for composition like this they sometimes do it as you see on the lower slab. So it could be either: 1942P 5C SILVER or as you see: 1942P SILVER 5C
The reason that they put the word "Silver" on the 1942-P is because in 1942, the Philadelphia mint produced nickels from both the standard nickel clad alloy and the silver war time alloy. However, in the past, they simply called the nickel clad a 1942 Jefferson Nickel, and the war time alloy a 1942-P Jefferson Nickel. Since only the war time alloy had the mint mark, no further clarification was necessary. Sometimes these are also referred to as T1 & T2 1942 Jefferson Nickels, though it is pretty uncommon.
So, the large "P" mm meant that it was the silver alloy. Isn't that the first time the "P" mm was ever used?
FYI...good article on the wartime silver "nickels" by David Lange. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/999/
The coin# (4016) is the index to the complete description of type and even varieties... http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/4013 vs http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/4016
