Silver War Nickel Melt Value
Enter how many 1942-1945 war nickels you have and today's silver price to see their silver content and melt value.
Page updated
Melt value
$
Enter a price and a quantity.
Sample price, not live.
- Silver content
- troy oz
Melt value = number of nickels × 0.0563 troy oz × spot price.
What a war nickel holds
Nickels dated 1942 to 1945 were made from a different alloy than other US nickels. NGC lists them at 5.00 g and 35% silver, with 56% copper and 9% manganese, which works out to 0.0563 troy oz of silver per coin. The silver is a small amount per coin, so the numbers matter most when you have many of them.
| Coins | Troy oz | At sample $50.00 | At your price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.0563 | $2.82 | — |
| 20 | 1.1260 | $56.30 | — |
| 40 | 2.2520 | $112.60 | — |
| 100 | 5.6300 | $281.50 | — |
Figures marked “sample” use a made-up price of the stated amount so you can check the arithmetic. They are not today’s price.
Twenty nickels is $1 of face value and holds 1.1260 troy oz of silver; at the sample price of $50.00 per ounce that is $56.30. A $2 roll holds 40 nickels. For a bag counted by face value, the junk silver calculator has a 35% line.
Telling them apart
The date range to look for is 1942 to 1945. This page does not try to identify war nickels by mint mark or other marks. Nickels from other years are not 35% silver and are not counted here. The guide to telling whether a coin is silver collects the date cutoffs for every denomination.
A war nickel’s melt value is a floor for the metal, nothing more. Whether a buyer will pay it, or more, depends on the buyer. The dealer offer check shows how an offer compares with melt.
Federal rules restrict melting one- and five-cent coins (31 CFR Part 82). This page does not say whether any particular nickel is covered. The number here is the metal value of the coins, not a suggestion to melt them. Read the current rule first, or see the note on the copper penny page.
Melt value is the value of the metal at the spot price. It is a reference point, not an offer. A dealer usually pays less than melt, and some coins sell for more than melt because collectors want them. This site does not buy or sell coins or give advice on either.
Sources
- NGC, Coin Melt Values: composition, weight and silver content per coin.
- MetalCharts, Silver Coin Melt Values: cross-check of weights and silver content.