Valuing the 1946 Jefferson Nickelĭespite being over 70 years old, the 1946 nickel is still quite common today, and the value is thus generally low in all but the highest grades. This variety is very popular and brings a high premium. In this case, the original mint mark was upside down or inverted. The principal Denver variety is a repunched mint mark variety, meaning that the mint mark has been struck twice into the coin. One of these DDOs, known as FS-101, is seen as exhibiting some of the most overt doubling in the entire Jefferson nickel series. This usually occurs when the die is moved slightly while being hubbed. This means that the dies that were used to strike the obverse of these coins had been doubled during the hubbing process. There are three major varieties of the 1946 Jefferson nickel: two belong to the San Francisco mintages, and one is a Denver mintage.īoth San Francisco varieties are doubled die obverse (DDO). Coins struck in Denver are signified by a “D” mint mark to the right of Monticello. Coins minted here are signified by an “S” mint mark to the right of Monticello on the reverse.ĭenver-struck nickels from this year, which number 45,292,200, generally exhibit the highest quality strikes. While San Francisco coins show similar striking issues, they are overall of higher quality, and mint state examples are common. Following the war, budgets for the Mint were greatly reduced, and as a result, the nickels minted in Philadelphia this year were overall of poor strike quality.ġ3,560,000 nickels were struck in San Francisco in 1946. Philadelphia reports minting 161,116,000 nickels in 1946.
The 1946 nickels were the first post-war nickels minted and signified a return to the pre-war composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel, with a diameter of 21.2mm and a mass of 5g.ĭuring this year, three locations struck nickels: Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver. Nickel was deemed important for America’s involvement in World War II, so the composition was temporarily changed to 56% copper, 35% silver, and 6% manganese.įor more information on nickels, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Rare Nickels ! History of the 1946 Jefferson Nickel All Jefferson nickels are made of 75% copper and 25% nickel save for those minted between 19. In addition to design changes, the Jefferson nickel has also changed composition throughout its history. This new design has been in use since that year, with Schlag’s design still on the reverse. In 2006, Jamie Franki designed a new obverse which features a forward-facing portrait of Jefferson. Schlag’s design remained in use until 2003, when several different commemorative nickels were released, mostly showcasing different reverse designs while retaining Schlag’s iconic obverse. The reverse of Schlag’s design depicts Jefferson’s home, Monticello, with “E PLURIBUS UNUM” along the upper rim, and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” across the bottom along with the denomination “FIVE CENTS.” It features on the obverse a profile bust portrait of Thomas Jefferson with the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” to his left and the word “LIBERTY” and the year of mintage to his right. The first and most famous design was created by Felix Schlag.
The Jefferson nickel has seen several different designs throughout the years. It was first minted in 1938, the year when it replaced its predecessor the Buffalo nickel, which had been notoriously difficult to strike in high quality. Compared to last year, FY 2021 average spot prices for nickel increased 28.1 percent to $17,503.10 per tonne, average copper prices also increased 48.2 percent to $8,676.77 per tonne, and average zinc prices increased 27.9 percent to $2,821.12 per tonne.Still in use after 80 years of mintage, the Jefferson nickel remains one of the most iconic and long-lived pieces of American coinage. “The unit cost for both pennies (2.10 cents) and nickels (8.52 cents) remained above face value for the 16th consecutive fiscal year. The Mint delivered nearly 15 billion coins to the Federal Reserve last year and realized about $1 billion in revenue. coins had less metal value than their face value. Pennies also cost more to create, about 2 cents, than their face value, while other U.S.
That is when nickel averaged about $17,500 a metric ton. It cost the Mint 8.52 cents to produce a nickel in the government’s latest fiscal year ended in September. The Mint prohibits the melting down of pennies and nickels for their metal value.