Silver War Coins
Want to buy silver war coins? Read on for facts and info on these commemorative coins minted during World War II and discover the value of each silver war coin…
Silver war coin is the term used for nickels that were produced by the United States during the warring years between 1942 to 1945. The war coins were composed of 56% copper which was mixed with a 5% silver and 9% manganese. One of the reasons for producing these coins in this manner was to save nickel metal which could be used in the industrial production of military supplies to facilitate the armies during World War II.
The unique composition of silver war coins give them a slightly different appearance from conventional nickel coins in terms of their color. Furthermore they had a distinctively different mint mark which was much larger in size. The benchmark was timed above the Monticello’s dome on the reverse side of these coins. Since they were minted in the San Francisco facility they bore the mint mark of “S”. In later years silver war coins were also minted in Denver as well as Philadelphia and featured the mint marks accordingly. These coins are also regarded as being the first coins to be minted with the mark of the Philadelphia mintage facility.
A small quantity of 1942 nickels was made without having any silver content. These coins are indicated by a small “S” or “D” stamped on the right side of Monticello’s dome. Similarly the pure metal coins from the Philadelphia facility had no mint mark at all.
Popular silver war coins
Silver “War” Nickels 1942 P, D, S
The 1942 silver war coin was minted in San Francisco as well as Philadelphia. They were produced in honor of the events that took place during this year of war. The most prominent events included the capture of Manila by the Japanese forces, the bombing of Tokyo by Doolittle’s Raiders, the Battle of Midway and the American victory over Japanese forces at Guadalcanal.
Silver “War” Nickels 1943 P, D, S
The 1943 silver war coin was minted in large quantity reaching up to 271 million coins. 104 million coins from the collection were minted at San Francisco, 15 million were minted at the Denver mint and the remaining at Philadelphia mint. The most important wartime events which the 1943 silver war nickel commemorates include the surrender of the German forces to the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, the surrender of German Afrika Korps to the Allies in North Africa, the defeat of the Germans by the Soviets in the Battle of Kursk and the invasion of Italy by the Allies.
Silver “War” Nickels 1944 P, D, S
Approximately 119 million copies of the 1944 silver war coins were minted at the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mintage facilities. These coins were meant to commemorate the wartime events that came to pass in 1944. These included the victory of Allied forces in the Battle of Monte Cassino, the capture of Rome by the Allied forces, the liberation of Paris by the Allied forces and the Battle of bulge.