5 Cents "Jefferson Wartime Nickel" · “Jefferson Wartime Nickel”

The Jefferson Wartime Nickel — when the nickel held no nickel

In 1942 the United States did something it had not done since 1873: it put silver into a circulating five-cent coin. Not for beauty — for war. Nickel metal was needed for armor and engines, so the Mint pulled it out of the nickel entirely and replaced it with silver and manganese, then stamped a giant mintmark over Monticello so the Treasury could one day sort these strange coins back out of circulation.