Skinny nickel

[Rick Potter]

Yesterday we got a nickel that seems much thinner than normal. It is from 1941, and my first thought was that is is very worn. However, you can still read the date, and Jeffersons head and home are clear, though worn.

My 99 cent calipers show a newer one to be just less than 2MM while this one is barely over 1MM. It is thinner than a penny.

Any numismatists out there?

Rick Potter

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm not an expert on coins, and 1941 was a few years before my time, but I do remember from my study of history in college that nickel was in great need for the war effort. In 1942, as I recall, they went to silver, which was more valuable in itself but less needed than nickel by the military. It may be that the prior year, 1941, they made them thinner to conserve the nickel.

[Dewey Torres]

I'm not an expert on coins, and 1941 was a few years before my time, but I do remember from my study of history in college that nickel was in great need for the war effort. In 1942, as I recall, they went to silver, which was more valuable in itself but less needed than nickel by the military. It may be that the prior year, 1941, they made them thinner to conserve the nickel.

Joe,
You are referring to what is known as the "War Nickles" but the 1941 date is too early:

World War II prompted the rationing of many commodities. Nickel was highly valued for use in armor plating, and Congress ordered the removal of this metal from the five-cent piece, effective October 8, 1942. From that date, and lasting through the end of 1945, five-cent pieces bore the regular design but were minted from an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. It was anticipated that these emergency coins would be withdrawn from circulation after the war, so a prominent distinguishing feature was added. Coins from all three mints bore very large mintmarks above the dome of Monticello, and the letter 'P' was used as a mintmark for the first time on a U. S. coin

[Dewey Torres]

Rick,
I am a coin collector. I am not guaranteeing anything but I will look in my book tonight if you don't have an answer by then.

[Dewey Torres]

Rick,
My Red Book does not show any indication that there were any nickles struck in error or out of regular specifications for 1941.

A 1941 nickle in the condition you describe should be worth 75 cents. I will often keep coins because I like them regardless of what they are worth.

[Bruce Page]

Rick, I would investigate it further. I might be one of those oddities worth thousands!

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the replies. I havn't found anything yet that someone on this site can't answer. It's amazing.

I will keep it along with my othe oddities. I have some early 1800's coins that were made into buttons, and a penny that someone took time to cut down and glue dime obverse and reverse on. Wierd.

Rick Potter

PS: as a kid, in the 50's I collected over 600 steel pennies, then spent them on a basketball when my folks wouldn't buy me one. Worse than weird.

[Bruce Volden]

Wow! I was just reading about Slacker Radio and then this....I thought it was a new band-Skinny Nickle

Bruce