Hello, I need a little help here. I really just started looking at nickels for errors. I just get a little bored with roll searching cent rolls for errors. my question is --what dates should I be looking for to keep? I thought I read that any nickel 1964 and earlier have silver in them and should be saved. any help with this/ what years should i hold on to and what years go back? thanks for any help. --BILL
US nickels 1942 thru 1945 with the large mint mark over the dome of Monticello are silver. Very hard to find in roll searches.
Yorkiedad: 1964 and earlier dimes, quarters, and halves do contain silver. U.S. nickels, though, have never had silver (except for the wartime years, 1942-1945, noted above. Also, just because I know some wiseguy is going to say something, technically the "half-dimes" contained silver.) That being said, nickels 1964 and earlier do carry a slight premium if you can amass them in some quantity. I see them sell on eBay for around double face value, give or take. There are key dates worth more, but they're unlikely to surface in circulation. 1938-D, 1938-S, 1939-D, 1939-S, and 1950-D are the main ones to look out for; each worth $1-$20 in circulated grades. Good luck hunting!
Look for older, uncirculated nickels (pre-64) and also look for full steps on Monticello. It takes 5 out of 6 steps to be called full steps. Some of the early-mid 1950's nickels are very hard to find in full steps and carry very large premiums. Also early 60's very hard to find in full steps. But I also like keeping any beautifully toned uncirculated nickels. The only circulated nickels worth keeping are war nickels and earlier. !939-D is a key date.
I've been known to play nickel machines in Vegas, cash out, and spend an hour or so just going through the coins -- much less damage to my bank account, and I always found things! Jeffersons are the only series where anything before about 1960 still circulates to any extent. As others have said, the 1942-45 nickels with the large mintmarks have silver. However, there are a few other early dates that bring a premium -- the 1938-D&S, the 1939-D&S, the 1942-D, and both 1950s will pretty much bring a premium in any grade, although to be sure they won't make you rich. The keys in circulated grades are probably the 1939-D and the 1950-D (although the latter didn't circulate much). You might also consider looking for varieties. The Red Book mentions quite a number of them among the older coins. If you're looking at uncirculated coins, someone else mentioned full steps coins, and they are a good option. D-Mint war nickels are by far the most commonly found Jeffersons with full steps, but some 1960s dates are virtually (and sometimes literally) unknown that way, and virtually any date with full steps will bring a premium.
I really enjoy searching rolls of nickels. You can still find good stuff. In the last year I've found two 1939s and one 1938, and I've also found two War nickels, although both were recieved in change, not from a roll. It's not uncommon to find 1940s nickels in rolls still. I've been able to build a pretty good collection of nickels all from rolls and change, although of the circulating coins (cent, dime, nickel and quarter) I need more nickels then anything else. A lot I get are in bad shape, probably because I am within a few hour's ride from something like 5 casinos. I personally save every pre-64 Nickel and I will save 1964s if they are in good condition. Some of them you get are really nasty, and I don't save them.
