how much silver is there in a nickel

[Margie]

You might be surprised to learn that the vast majority of U.S. nickels in circulation today contain absolutely no silver. The standard Jefferson nickel you get as change is composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Despite its name, the coin is mostly copper.

However, there is a fascinating and valuable exception that every aspiring treasure hunter should know about. For a brief period during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, the U.S. Mint produced special "War Nickels" that did contain silver. Because the metal nickel was a critical material for the war effort, the mint changed the coin's composition to save it for military use.

These unique coins were made of an alloy of 56% copper, 9% manganese, and a significant 35% silver. Each of these wartime nickels contains 1.75 grams of pure silver. To make them easy to identify, the mint placed a large mint mark (P, D, or S) above the dome of Monticello on the reverse side of the coin. This was the first time a 'P' mint mark from Philadelphia appeared on a U.S. coin.

So, while almost every nickel you'll ever see is just worth five cents, keep an eye out for those specific dates and the large mint mark. Finding a 35% silver War Nickel means you've found a genuine piece of history with an intrinsic value far greater than its face value.