1942 Jefferson Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 49,789,000 made
- Mintage
- 49,789,000
- Metal
- 75% copper, 25% nickel
- Weight
- 5 g
- Diameter
- 21.21 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1942 Jefferson Nickel worth?
A worn 1942 is a spender: face value. A bright uncirculated one, or one with a known error, is worth setting aside.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full steps on Monticello (5FS or 6FS)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1942 Jefferson Nickel rare?
- No. 50 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1942 Jefferson Nickel silver?
- No. It's 75% copper, 25% nickel. The only silver nickels are the 1942 to 1945 wartime coins with a large mint mark above Monticello.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1942 Jefferson Nickel?
- Large mint mark above the dome of Monticello on the reverse, including a "P" for Philadelphia, the first ever used. A large mint mark means a 35% silver war nickel. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1942 are scarcer?
- The 1938 at 19,496,000. So the 1942 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1942 Jefferson Nickel coins were made?
- 49,789,000.
What to check on your 1942
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Look above Monticello. Wartime nickels struck in the silver alloy carry a large P or S mint mark over the dome; 1942 nickels without it are the regular copper-nickel alloy.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1942 Jefferson Nickel Proof (29,600 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. The steps of Monticello are the key: coins with 5 or 6 full steps (5FS / 6FS) sell for large premiums. On the obverse, check Jefferson's cheekbone and hair.
With 49,789,000 made, you can still find a 1942 in rolls, old jars and inherited collections. The coins worth keeping are the uncirculated ones and any with a doubled die or other variety.
The story of the 1942
Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1942. Only 49,789,000 were made, against 203 million the year before. That drop is why the 1942 is the one people look for. The next year it made 58 million (1942-P).
1942-D came to 14 million and 1942-S came to 33 million and 1942-P came to 58 million, so neither mint's 1942 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Philadelphia struck the Jefferson Nickel in 64 issues between 1938 and 2003. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1955 (7,888,000). Within the 1940s it's 18th smallest of 31, between the 1946-D (45 million) and the 1941-D (53 million).
Wartime silver nickels (1942 to 1945)
Nickel was needed for the war, so in late 1942 the Mint switched to an alloy of 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and 9 percent manganese. To show the change, a large mint mark was placed above Monticello. For the first time Philadelphia used a P. Early 1942 nickels in the old alloy have the mint mark to the right of the building.
The 1943/2-P overdate and the 1943-P doubled eye variety are popular. Many silver nickels were pulled from circulation and melted in later decades when silver rose, but they remain easy to find. Counterfeits dated 1944 without a mint mark were made by Francis Henning, so any 1944 nickel without a P, D or S above the dome is fake. Survivors often show dark or uneven toning from the manganese. Fully struck steps are scarce on several dates.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1942
Nickel was needed for the war, so from October 1942 the five-cent coin was struck in an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. These war nickels carry a large mint mark above Monticello, the first use of a "P" mint mark.
How to recognize it
Felix Schlag's portrait shows Thomas Jefferson facing left with IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY and the date. The reverse shows the front of Monticello, Jefferson's home, with MONTICELLO and FIVE CENTS below. The mint mark was to the right of the building until 1964 (above the dome on wartime silver nickels) and moved to the obverse, near the date, in 1968. Schlag's initials FS were added below the bust in 1966.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Jefferson Nickel (1938–2003) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 49,789,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.21 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Felix Schlag |
Other 1942 Jefferson Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 Jefferson Nickel | 49,789,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1942-P Jefferson Nickel | 57,873,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0563 oz |
| 1942 Jefferson Nickel Proof | 29,600 | Proof | – |
| 1942-P Jefferson Nickel Proof | 27,600 | Proof | 0.0563 oz |
| 1942-D Jefferson Nickel | 13,938,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1942-S Jefferson Nickel | 32,900,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0563 oz |
Mintage: United States nickel mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.