{"id":1179,"date":"2025-03-14T03:47:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T03:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/1944-p-jefferson-war-nickel-a-collectors-guide\/"},"modified":"2025-03-14T03:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T03:47:53","slug":"1944-p-jefferson-war-nickel-a-collectors-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/1944-p-jefferson-war-nickel-a-collectors-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"1944-P Jefferson War Nickel : A Collector\u2019s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"1944-P
1944-P Jefferson nickel. Image: CoinWeek \/ Heritage Auctions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By\u00a0Charles Morgan<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Hubert Walker<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0CoinWeek Notes<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2026..
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

Struck against the backdrop of war from an alloy developed to save copper and nickel, the 1944-P Jefferson Nickel<\/strong> is one of the most abundant dates of the silver alloy subtype. Uncirculated examples are plentiful and can be purchased inexpensively, though fully-struck examples are elusive. The date was counterfeited in the 1950s by Francis Henning<\/a><\/strong>, the only wartime date the counterfeiter chose. That choice would prove a factor in his undoing, as he neglected to include the subtype\u2019s distinctive large mintmark over Monticello<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A New Alloy for the 1944-P War Nickel<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"TheEstablished in January of 1942, the War Production Board (WPB)<\/strong> converted domestic factories to wartime production and procured the resources necessary to manufacture weapons, vehicles, munitions, and other supplies. Lists of critical raw materials, which included copper and nickel, were drawn up, and the WPB allocated the material based on the needs of defense industries.<\/p>\n

As numismatic researcher and author Roger W. Burdette<\/a><\/strong> puts it in his 2012 book United States Patterns and Experimental Coinage of WW-II<\/em><\/strong>, \u201cthe WPB had the authority to tell any government agency or private company how much metal they could use, and it was only through persistent work that the Mint found enough copper to continue coinage through 1942.\u201d<\/p>\n

These restrictions posed a particular challenge for the United States Mint<\/a><\/strong>, which had to change the composition of much of the country\u2019s circulating coinage. Zinc-coated Steel Cents<\/a><\/strong>, introduced in 1943 to save copper, attracted public ire as the greyish coins were easily confused with dimes and tarnished quickly in circulation.<\/p>\n

\"AThe nickel also proved problematic. Until 1942, the nickel\u2019s alloy was 75% copper and 25% nickel, the same composition used for nickel five-cent pieces since the denomination\u2019s introduction in 1866. Both metals were on the WPB\u2019s list and a new alloy was sought.<\/p>\n

In November of 1941, the Mint began experimenting with new alloys for the nickel. The vending machine industry offered input as well, to ensure that the new alloy would function in their machines. The Mint toyed with the notion of reintroducing a silver half dime, a denomination phased out in 1873.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/strong> passed a law in March of 1942 authorizing a five-cent coin with a 50% silver, 50% copper composition but providing the Mint latitude to modify the new alloy as necessary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Numismatist<\/em> took note of the nickel\u2019s changing composition in its April 1942 issue, noting that \u201cnumismatists will be interested to know that silver is less valuable than nickel. Nickel can do work where silver cannot. For example, the nickel that goes into our coinage can be redirected in channels which will supply adequate metal to harden the steel for 1,000 heavy tanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August 1942, after months of experiments, the Mint arrived at an alloy of 35% silver, 56% copper, and 9% manganese, which was approved in early September. The striking of the coins began on September 21. The new alloy proved difficult to strike but the Mint\u2019s staff persevered, producing hundreds of millions of \u201cwar nickels\u201d between September 1942 and the end of 1945. In his book, Burdette points to \u201c[p]oor alloy mix, oxidation, segregation, inconsistent annealing\u201d as among the persistent issues the Mint confronted in manufacturing War Nickels.<\/p>\n

To differentiate the silver War Nickels from their base-metal predecessors, a larger mintmark was added above Monticello<\/strong> on the reverse. Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross<\/strong> explained in a letter to F.J. Haggerty<\/strong> dated September 14, 1942:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026The engraver at Philadelphia is instructed to place a Mint Mark somewhat larger than usual, directly over the dome of Monticello, on the reverse of the new coin. This, it is believed, will facilitate identification of the coins when they come in as uncurrent. However, Mr. Miller states that view that the difference in color between the new and the old coin will be sufficient to identify them readily.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Mint<\/strong> struck 119,150,000 nickels in 1944, the third-highest mintage of the wartime subtype. 271,165,000 were struck at the same facility the previous year, while the 1945-P<\/strong> has a mintage slightly higher at 119,408,000.<\/p>\n

The market for 1944-P Jefferson Nickels took shape after the war, as coin collecting grew in popularity. In the January 1965 issue of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine<\/em>, dealer Bob Creps<\/strong> offered uncirculated rolls of the date for $99 each. Prices came down after the collapse of the roll market. In an April 1974 Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine<\/em> ad, Metropolitan Rare Coin Exchange<\/strong> of New York City<\/strong> offered to buy $2 face BU rolls of 1944-P Jefferson Nickels for $55.<\/p>\n

Certified Examples of the 1944-P War Nickel<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to Bernard Nagengast<\/strong> in his The Jefferson Nickel Analyst<\/em><\/strong> (2nd Ed., 2002):<\/p>\n

\u201cThe silver alloy nickels issued from 1942-1945 had an entirely different, more appealing look than the earlier nickels. This appearance no doubt encouraged saving of these coins, since as a general statement the wartime silver nickels are much more available than the earlier coins, even for the 1942 issues.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Defining<\/p>\n

War Nickels do not typically have a stronger or weaker strike than their copper-nickel predecessors or replacements. Nagengast again:<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he WT [wartime] alloy must have been similar to the copper-nickel in terms of strike ability. Striking problems seem to vary with the individual mint practices.\u201d He describes the Philadelphia Mint\u2019s nickels of the 1940s as \u201cgrainy looking,\u201d and specifies that the 1944-P \u201coften exhibits surface roughness, however, smooth coins can be found with some searching.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncirculated 1944-P War Nickels typically display \u201cbrilliant satin to frosty surfaces,\u201d according to Nagengast.<\/p>\n

1944-P Jefferson Nickels displaying five<\/em> full steps are widely available, but those with all<\/em> steps well-defined are rare.<\/p>\n

Because of their silver content, some 1944-P Jefferson Nickels (and all other War Nickels) will sometimes sport more colorful toning than their base-metal counterparts.<\/p>\n

When we first began tracking the certified population reports in December 2023, PCGS<\/a><\/strong> recorded 3,879 grading events for 1944-P Jefferson Nickels without Full Steps and 915 with that designation, while NGC<\/a> recorded 5,123 without Full Steps, 400 with 5 Full Steps (5FS), and 34 with Full Steps (6FS). As of this update in March 2025, PCGS reports 4,027 sans FS and 933 with; NGC reports 5,474 without, 422 5FS, and 37 6FS.<\/p>\n

Two coins graded MS67 6FS are listed in the NGC Census<\/strong>, up from one reported in late August 2024.<\/p>\n

Variety Vista<\/em> lists four doubled die obverse (DDO) and seven doubled die reverse (DDR) varieties of the 1944-P Jefferson Nickel. The date\u2019s obverse design is listed as Obverse Die Variety #5, used only in 1944. Its reverse is listed as Reverse Design Variety #3. NGC\u2019s Census lists two P\/P varieties.<\/p>\n

Auction results suggest that 1944-P Jefferson Nickels are worth less than $100 in all grades below MS67. In MS67, values can cross the $100 threshold, and coins in MS67+ often sell for between $200 and more than $1,000.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When the Omaha Bank Hoard<\/strong> coins were announced by Heritage Auction Galleries<\/strong> in 2004, the PCGS-certified population of 1944-P Jefferson Nickels in MS67FS was in the low single digits with none finer. On October 24, 2006, one of the OBH 1944-P Jefferson Nickels sold for $3,737.50. At the time, the pop was seven. MS67FH coins now number over 70 and the typical auction result falls between $400 and $500.<\/p>\n

\"Image:
Period covered 2014-2024. Image: CoinWeek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of two NGC coins certified as MS68 5FS has seen two GreatCollections<\/strong> auction appearances since August 2023.<\/p>\n

Top Population<\/strong>:\u00a0PCGS MS67+FS<\/a> (10, 3\/2025), NGC MS68 5FS<\/a> (2, 3\/2025), and CAC MS66<\/a> (0:12 stickered:graded, 3\/2025).<\/p>\n

The completeness of Monticello\u2019s steps is used to determine the quality of a Jefferson Nickel\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> strike. Examples on which all (or most) of the six steps are well-defined were fully struck from fresh dies. Many nickels have five of the six steps defined, indicating a better strike that still fails to qualify as Full Steps<\/strong>; NGC<\/strong> attributes both Five Full Step (5FS) and Full Step nickels.<\/p>\n