Silver "War" nickels were manufactured from 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese. This allowed the saved nickel metal to be shifted to industrial production of miltary supplies during World War II. In 1942, approximately 58 million coins were produced at the Philadelphia Mint and about 33 million coins were made at the San Francisco Mint.
Wartime events of 1942 include: Manila captured by Japanese (January 2), "Doolittle's Raiders" bomb Tokyo (April 18), Battle of Midway (June 4 - 7), American victory over Japan at Guadalcanal (November 15).
The silver content of these coins means they have greater inherent value than traditionally produced nickels, but they can still be easily added to your coin collection, either by finding them in pocket change (a rare but not impossible occurrence), by trading with other collectors or by obtaining low price specimens from dealers.
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Bust of Thomas Jefferson on obverse
view of the 1942 Silver Nickel.
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