1942 Nickel Value: Silver War Nickels vs 1942-D Horizontal D

A 1942 nickel is worth about $3.26 as a silver war nickel if it has a large P or S above Monticello's dome. That coin is 35 percent silver and holds 0.05626 troy ounces, worth $3.26 at $58 silver, the anchor used across these guides, or about $3.04 at the $54 spot of late October 2026. A 1942 with no mint mark, or a 1942-D with a small D, is a copper-nickel coin worth face value when worn, about $50 in MS60 to MS63 for the 1942-D according to PCGS, and $84-460 in MS67 at auction.

The year is a dividing line. Philadelphia and San Francisco began striking the silver alloy in October 1942, and Denver struck none that year. The one 1942 coin with a famous price is the 1942-D/D horizontal D, FS-501, a standard nickel with a repunched mint mark. PCGS lists it at $90 in VF20, $300 in AU50 and $3,850 in MS65, and a PCGS MS65 Full Steps example sold for $5,280 at Stack's Bowers on November 14, 2025.

Quick answer

• A 1942-P or 1942-S silver nickel has a large mint mark above Monticello's dome and holds 0.05626 troy ounces of silver: $3.26 at $58 silver, about $3.04 at the $54 spot of October 25, 2026.
• 1942 with no mint mark (Philadelphia, copper-nickel): 49,789,000 minted. Face value worn; PCGS auction records show MS66 at $30-49 and MS67 at $84-458 (2016-2026).
• 1942-D (copper-nickel): 13,938,000 minted. Face value worn; about $50 in MS60-MS63 per PCGS; MS67 sold for $95-420 and MS67+ for $216-1,800.
• 1942-D/D horizontal D, FS-501: PCGS guide $40 in G4, $90 in VF20, $300 in AU50, $1,350 in MS60, $3,850 in MS65; sales $65-73 in VF (2023-2025), $2,400-4,465 in MS65 (2016-2018), $5,280 in MS65 Full Steps (November 2025), $15,275 in MS66 (Heritage, April 2013).
• Top silver war nickels: PCGS guide $27 in MS65 and $80 in MS67 for the 1942-S; a 1942-P in MS68 sold for $5,950 on eBay in 2021 and a 1942-S in MS68 for $2,625 in 2020.

How do you tell a 1942 nickel apart, step by step?

Three things decide the value: the mint mark, the variety and the condition. Work through them in order.

1. Read the date. It sits on the front, at the lower right of Jefferson's portrait. Every coin in this guide is dated 1942.
2. Check the back for the mint mark. A silver war nickel has a large P or S above the dome of Monticello. A standard coin has a small letter to the right of Monticello near the base, or no letter at all for Philadelphia.
3. Know what the mint mark means. The large letter marks the 35 percent silver alloy of 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and 9 percent manganese. Denver struck no silver nickels in 1942, so a 1942-D is always copper-nickel.
4. Do not rely on a scale. Both types weigh 5.00 grams, so weight cannot separate them. The mint mark above the dome is the test.
5. Look for the horizontal D on a 1942-D. Under a loupe, the mint mark to the right of Monticello shows a second D lying on its side, from an early punch that the Mint corrected with an upright D. The variety is easiest to see on sharp coins.
6. Judge the wear. Look at Jefferson's cheek and the hair above his ear, and at the columns and steps on the back. Flatness means circulated, and a circulated standard 1942 is worth face value.
7. Count the steps on uncirculated coins. PCGS awards Full Steps to Mint State coins with at least five complete, unbroken steps at the base of Monticello. Full Steps lifts the price sharply in high grades.
8. Price from sold results for the same mint, type, variety and grade.

Why were there silver nickels in 1942?

The Mint replaced the nickel in the coin during the war. Congress authorized the change on March 27, 1942, and the new alloy of 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and 9 percent manganese was first coined in October 1942, according to the Wikipedia article on the Jefferson nickel. The large P was the first time Philadelphia's mint mark appeared on a US coin. The silver alloy was used through 1945, and the prewar composition and the smaller mint mark returned in 1946. That is why a 1942 nickel can be either type, and why the mint mark, not the date, decides the metal.

What is a 1942 nickel worth?

Silver sets the floor for the 1942-P and 1942-S. The other 1942 coins are priced by grade and rarity. Figures below are PCGS CoinFacts guide values and PCGS-recorded auction results as of October 2026; the Gainesville Coins guide, which lists $40-75 for a 1942 in MS65 and $75-150 for a 1942-D, runs higher than what the auction records show. Sales are thin in some grades, so treat the ranges as hedged.

Gainesville Coins also reports an MS67 1942 at $11,500 in 2007 and an MS68 Full Steps 1942-D at $4,320 in 2021; neither appears in the PCGS records we checked, so treat them as unconfirmed. For how Full Steps changes a Jefferson nickel's price, see our Jefferson nickel value guide.

What are the silver war nickels worth in metal?

Each 1942-P or 1942-S silver nickel holds 0.05626 troy ounces of silver. At $58, the anchor used across WorthPic's coin guides, that is about $3.26. Kitco showed spot at $53.80 on the morning of October 25, 2026, which gives about $3.04. Each $1 move in silver changes the melt by about 6 cents.

Dealers usually buy war nickels by the roll or by face value. A roll of 40 holds about 2.25 ounces of silver, which is roughly $130 at $58 or $121 at $54. Expect an offer below full melt, since the coins are sold by weight and a dealer needs a margin, and compare two buyers before you sell. Silver coin value explains how dealers price different silver alloys.

What is the 1942-D/D horizontal D?

It is a Denver nickel with a repunched mint mark. A Mint employee punched the D into the working die lying on its side, and the die was then corrected with an upright D. The first punch did not disappear, and it remains visible under the corrected mint mark, as CoinWeek and PCGS describe it. The coin is a standard copper-nickel nickel with 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel, not a silver war nickel, and it is part of the Denver mintage of 13,938,000.

Check it under magnification on a sharp coin, since die chips and ordinary doubling can look similar. PCGS calls the variety quite scarce, with possibly fewer than a few hundred known and fewer than 100 uncirculated, and CoinWeek reports a PCGS estimate of about 100 in MS65 or better with Full Steps. Worn examples are not expensive: PCGS lists $40 in Good, $90 in VF20 and $200 in XF40, and graded VF coins sold for $65-73 in 2023-2025. The money starts at AU58 ($700 guide) and climbs to $3,400-3,850 in MS63 to MS65 and $7,000 in MS66.

Worked example: a roll of 1942 nickels

Say you open a roll of 40 wartime nickels from an old drawer. Twenty-two have a large P or S above the dome, so they are silver. Each one is worth about $3.26 in metal at $58 silver, so the roll holds about $72 of silver, and that is the value to plan around. Fifteen more are worn and have no mint mark or a small D, so they are face value.

Three remain. Two are worn 1942 Philadelphia coins, also face value. The third is a 1942-D that looks sharp under the light. Under a loupe, the mint mark to the right of Monticello shows a sideways D. That is worth a specialist's look. A worn one is a $40-200 coin by the PCGS guide, but if it is truly uncirculated the guide starts at $1,350. Send a close-up to a dealer and let them confirm it before you sell, and keep the rest of the roll for melt.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every 1942 nickel is silver. Only the large P and S types are silver. The standard 1942 and 1942-D are copper-nickel.
• Looking for a large D. Denver struck no silver nickels in 1942, so a large D on a 1942 is not a war nickel.
• Testing with a scale. Both types weigh 5.00 grams. Use the mint mark above the dome.
• Mistaking die damage for a variety. A die chip or a rough patch can look like a sideways D. Compare with a normal 1942-D.
• Pricing a worn 1942 from the uncirculated column. Most of the high figures are for uncirculated coins, and worn coins are worth face value or their silver.
• Cleaning the coin. Cleaning damages the surface and lowers the grade. See should you clean old coins.

How WorthPic reads 1942 nickel photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of both sides it reads the date, finds the mint mark, and tells a large silver letter above the dome from a small standard one. It judges wear on the cheek and the steps, and it asks for a sharp close-up of the 1942-D mint mark when a sideways D might be present. It gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure, and it explains that silver sets the value of the 1942-P and 1942-S. It cannot confirm a variety from a soft or angled phone photo, and it cannot count steps reliably in a blurry picture. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• Both sides straight on, in even daylight.
• The mint mark area on the back, close up, from straight on.
• The date close up, sharp and in one light, on any 1942 coin you think is silver.
• The base of Monticello on uncirculated coins, with the steps in focus.
• Any sideways D, under a single bright light, with a loupe if you have one.

When to get it looked at in person

A worn 1942 with no variety and a large silver mark needs no expert. Sell it to a dealer at melt or keep it. An uncirculated 1942-D that might carry the horizontal D, or a high-grade coin with Full Steps, is worth showing to a dealer or coin club first, then grading by PCGS or NGC if the coin is strong enough, since buyers pay for attribution. Coin grading scale explained covers what the grades mean. For other wartime and mixed nickels, see what nickels are worth money.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Jefferson nickel: the silver alloy, authorized March 27, 1942 and first coined in October 1942.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1942-D/D 5C D/Horizontal D: guide values by grade, the scarcity estimate and the MS65 and MS66 auction records.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1942 5C, 1942-D 5C, 1942-P 5C Silver and 1942-S 5C: mintages, guide values and recent auction results for the four regular issues.
• CoinWeek: 1942-D/D Jefferson nickel, FS-501: how the horizontal D came about, the copper-nickel composition, the November 2025 Stack's Bowers sale and the Full Steps estimate.
• Gainesville Coins: 1942 Jefferson nickel value: the dealer guide ranges and the eBay MS68 sales cited for comparison.
• Kitco: silver price: the $53.80 spot on October 25, 2026.