Those ugly old green and grey and black war nickels! Most people went out of their way to not even touch them for fear of getting their hands dirty, and surely wouldn't let their children play with them. This is the legacy of the 1943/2-P Jefferson nickel. NO RESPECT!  This is a real important coin, but most collectors just ignore it. Afterall, why take it seriously? Didn't they make millions of them? Whitman, Dansco, Littleton, and everyone else who makes coin albums ignores it too. They don't even bother to include a space for it - SO IT JUST CAN'T BE IMPORTANT!  RIGHT?  It is just another dirty old "war nickel", right?  Well, . . .The 1942/1, and the 1942/1-D dimes are just "war dimes" - But they are RARE and IMPORTANT!  The 1918/17-D Buffalo nickel is also just a "war nickel" (WWI) too, just as is the 1918/17-S  Standing Liberty Quarter - is also a war time issue. Both are RARE and VALUABLE!  So why are these issues so important and valuable and the 1943/2-P war nickel so insignificant? The simple answer is that the rarity of each of these other issues has been affirmed countless times by the mere fact that each one has a space in every coin album. Furthermore, no collection can be called "complete" without their space being filled. If there is no space in the album for a particular date or variety, most collectors will not bother to own one. Hence we have "supply" with no "demand". NO RESPECT!

The 1943/2-P Jefferson nickel could eventually become one of the most sought-after and valuable nickels of all types. After all, it is one of only eight recognized overdates in all U.S. coins of the 20th Century, including gold. Let's take a moment and look a little closer. What do we know about this coin for sure?

 1) We know that the 1943/2-P nickel was created when a Mint worker accidently rehubbed a die dated 1942 with a 1943 hub. This accounts for the slight doubling on most of the lettering. This is exactly how the 1942/1 dimes and both 1918/17 issues were created. It was wartime and quality control was poor. The latter issues are all valuable and very much in demand.

 2) The Philadelphia Mint produced 271 million nickels dated 1943. These coins were struck from 1024 obverse and 1107 reverse dies (Reverse dies seem to wear out faster). All known examples of the 1943/2-P Jefferson nickel were struck from one pair of dies. This means that, on average, about 245,000 +/- pieces were produced per die pair. However, this error was probably discovered by routine inspection long before it's full potential was reached, and the overdated die cancelled as "defective". This is still "standard operating procedure" at all U.S.Mint facilities today.

 3) The 1943/2-P overdate was first reported in July 1948, but that piece was already quite worn. It was not until 1978 that someone came forth with an uncirculated piece and the overdate was confirmed. Even still, the existence of the coin was not publicized until late 1981. In 40 years, these coins saw a lot of circulation and abuse. War Nickels are 35% silver by weight, and the softness of this metal made these coins wear excessively in a very short period of time. They discolored and corroded, and because of this were generally disliked by most. People tossed them into fountains, and down sidewalk grates, and for the most part, treated them just a little bit better than most people treat pennies lying in a parking lot today. Under normal conditions, at least 20-30% of an issue would be distroyed in 30-40 years of circulation. These coins wore out much faster than their copper-nickel counterparts. This means that if this die produced its total potential, somewhere between 70,000 - 120,000 pieces probably were destroyed or lost through wear, mutilation, and ground loss.

 4) With the demise of silver coinage in 1965, the 35% silver war nickel soon found itself worth more than a nickel. At the peak of the "silver rush" in January 1980, the lowly war nickel reached a value of $3.35 silver content each! It is estimated that at least 50-60% of all war nickels were lost to the smelters for their silver and copper contents.

 5) When you consider normal circulation losses and the high losses to smelting, as many as 80-85% of this entire issue has been lost. Those pieces remaining, are generally heavily worn or show other scars from lots of circulation. Uncirculated pieces are really rare. All things considered, there are probably fewer than 40,000 possible survivors - IN ALL CONDITIONS! (There are an estimated 35,000 1942/1 Mercury dimes) With more than six million nickel enthusiasts, just think of the potential retail value when collectors finally "wise-up" to the scarcity of this much overlooked issue.

This is truly a scarce coin. One day, the companies that make nickel albums will cut a hole for this important overdate error.  At current $30-$60 prices, these coins are a steal!  It will quickly become rare, and very expensive, and finally command the proper price and respect that it deserves. When that day arrives, you just might wish that you had "picked up a couple of pieces" - WHEN AVERAGE COLLECTORS COULD AFFORD THEM! 

It should be noted that there is a variety of 1943 war nickel that has a die crack in the lower portion of the "3" that looks very much like the overdate type, and on very low grade coins can be mistaken for the overdate. The die break type does not display the bottom crossbar of the underlying "2" or the points at the beginning or terminus ends of the crossbar. Also, the die break is located slightly to the left of the area where the "2" is found. Although virtually unknown to most collectors, this is a pretty scarce variety, and may be valuable some day.

If  you feel that this guide was informative or in any way helpful, I would greatly appreciate your taking a few moments to check the  ( YES )  box at the bottom of this page. All sources of information are available upon request. (mintex03)