On the reverse of the 43-45 nickel there is Morse code that say's something like "We win when we work willingly" . Just a bit of propaganda.
I recently posted this in another thread, but I guess I'll just post it again because I think the 12-sided tombac coin is really cool. I have this and the round nickel-composition 1937 side-by-side in holders on my desk. I like the side with the beaver, so the fingerprint is on the side I don't see.
Tombac is a variety of brass. It is 88% copper and 12% zinc. This was done for 2 years until they needed the copper, switching to nickel/chromium-plated steel in 1944 and '45. They did this metal combination again in 1951-54 during the Korean War (Police Action). Tombac is the same alloy ratio (88:12) as the Flying Eagle Cents, but with nickel instead of zinc.
Not sure. If you look at the animation you’ll see the same effect at the 3:00 to 6:00 positions, where it looks like there’s an extra rounded collar outside the straight edges.