does a 1940 nickel have silver in it

[OEli]

Ah, the great Jefferson nickel silver hunt! Alas, your 1940 nickel missed the silver boat by just a couple of years. It seems Uncle Sam was saving the good stuff for a global crisis.

Your coin is made of the standard, workhorse recipe for Jefferson nickels: a trusty blend of 75% copper and 25% nickel. It wasn't until partway through 1942 that the U.S. Mint started swapping out the nickel, which was a critical material for the war effort, and began producing coins with 35% silver.

These special silver "war nickels" were only minted from 1942 to 1945. So while your 1940 nickel doesn't have a silver lining, it's still a cool piece of pre-war American history, holding down the fort right before its shinier cousins were called into service.