Neat find.

[kickaha]

Went to the post office yesterday, was handed a nickel in change. A very dark nickel, with an odd reddish hue. Felt weird, too.



It's a 1941 WW II nickel.


Heh. :)


Edit: Funny, I thought it was steel, from the oxidation, the weight, and the ring when it drops. I can't find mention of steel nickels being minted in WWII however. OTOH, I can't find a mint mark anywhere on this beast that corresponds to the placement of the P, S, or D I've found on collector sites. Weird.

Comments

[misstracy.livejournal.com]

Hmm. (Putting on my very old numismatics hat from childhood and therefore likely to be very inaccurate). I didn't think they made WWII nickels ("silvers" as nickel was needed for the war effort) in '41. It wasn't until 42 that the process changed. But again, I could be completely wrong on dates or perhaps some slipped out in '41 or had the incorrect mint mark...which would be very cool.

But it's definitely a Jefferson nickel? And definitely 1941? But no mint mark...that would make sense for the year since I don't think they started mint-marking until sometime in the war. Interesting. But doesn't ring any bells as to why/how that nickel would be made of anything special. Go figure. Maybe you got a freak nickel that's worth millions. ;)