1943 Nickel Value: Silver War Nickels, 1943/2-P and Doubled Eye

A 1943 nickel is a wartime silver nickel worth about $3.25 for its metal as of October 2026, with silver at $58 an ounce. Every 1943 nickel, whether struck at Philadelphia, Denver or San Francisco, contains 35 percent silver and carries a large P, D or S above Monticello's dome. Two varieties are worth much more: the 1943/2-P overdate, which the PCGS Price Guide lists at $60 in VF to $750 in MS65 (MS65 coins have actually sold for about $400-590), and the 1943-P doubled eye, listed at $38 to $360.

Most 1943 nickels are common. The Philadelphia Mint alone struck 271,165,000 of them, and worn coins trade as silver. The money is in the two varieties, which you can check with a loupe in a minute, and in coins that are still uncirculated.

Quick answer

• Every 1943 nickel holds 0.05626 troy ounces of silver, about $3.25 at $58 silver, as of October 2026.
• Uncirculated common coins (PCGS guide): about $14-28 in MS63 to MS65, $32-37 in MS66, $70-80 in MS67.
• 1943/2-P overdate, FS-101 (PCGS guide): about $60 in VF20, $125 in XF40, $275 in AU58, $750 in MS65. Auction sales: about $110-135 in XF45, $190-265 in AU58, $400-590 in MS65.
• 1943-P doubled eye, FS-106 (PCGS guide): about $38 in VF20, $57 in XF40, $150 in AU58, $360 in MS65. PCGS MS65 coins have sold for about $230-480.
• Top grades and Full Steps coins run to four figures; a 1943-P MS68 Full Steps sold for $14,688 in 2020.

How do you value a 1943 nickel, step by step?

Confirm the war nickel mark, check the two varieties, then judge condition.

1. Confirm the date. The date is on the front, on the right side below LIBERTY. All 1943 nickels are war nickels.
2. Turn it over and find the big mint mark. On war nickels the mint mark is a large P, D or S on the back, directly above the dome of Monticello. P is Philadelphia, D Denver, S San Francisco. The 1942 nickel was the first US coin to carry a P.
3. Know it is silver. The alloy is 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and 9 percent manganese, replacing the nickel needed for the war. The coin still weighs 5.00 grams, the same as a normal nickel, so a scale cannot tell them apart; the large mint mark above the dome is the test.
4. On a 1943-P, look at the date for the overdate. With a 5x or 10x loupe, look at the 3 for the outline of a 2 underneath it. On the 1943/2-P the earlier 2 shows as extra raised metal, mostly along the lower part of the 3.
5. On a 1943-P, look at Jefferson's eye. The doubled eye variety shows a clear second outline around the eye and eyelid, as if the eye were drawn twice. It is visible with a loupe even on worn coins.
6. Judge the condition. Look at Jefferson's cheekbone and the hair above his ear, and at the top of the dome and the columns. Any flatness or gray dullness means circulated, and a circulated 1943 without a variety is worth its silver.
7. On uncirculated coins, count the steps. Five or six complete, unbroken steps under Monticello can earn the Full Steps designation from PCGS or NGC, which raises the value sharply in high grades.
8. Price from sold results for the exact mint, variety and grade.

What is a 1943 nickel worth?

Silver sets the floor; the two Philadelphia varieties and high grades set everything above it. Values are from the PCGS Price Guide as of October 2026, with circulated common coins at melt.

At the very top, values climb fast. PCGS values an MS68 at $1,300 for the 1943-P, $1,100 for the 1943-D and $1,800 for the 1943-S. Auction records listed by PCGS include $4,300 for a 1943/2-P in MS68 (Heritage, 2001), $3,738 for a doubled eye in MS67 (Bowers and Merena, 2006) and $14,688 for a 1943-P in MS68 with Full Steps (Legend Rare Coin Auctions, 2020). PCGS's guide lists about $6 for circulated common coins; in practice, dealers buying war nickels in bulk pay close to melt.

The 1943-D has the lowest mintage of the three, but enough were saved that it carries no real premium in circulated grades.

How much is the silver in a 1943 nickel worth?

About $3.25 at $58 silver. Each war nickel contains 0.05626 troy ounces of pure silver, so multiply that by the spot price. Silver traded near $54 on October 23, 2026 according to Kitco, which puts the melt near $3.03 that day. Each $10 move in silver changes the value by about 56 cents.

Dealers usually buy war nickels by the roll or by face value. A roll of 40 holds about 2.25 ounces of silver, about $130 at $58. Expect offers somewhat below melt, since the alloy is less convenient to refine than 90 percent silver, and compare two buyers. Our silver coin value guide explains how dealers price the different silver alloys.

What is the 1943/2-P overdate nickel?

It is a 1943-P struck from a die that was first made with a 1942 date and then reworked with 1943, leaving part of the 2 visible under the 3. PCGS catalogs it as FS-101. It is the most valuable 1943 nickel you are likely to find, and because the evidence is in the date, it can be checked on worn coins.

PCGS guide values are about $28 in G4, $60 in VF20, $125 in XF40, $275 in AU58, $500 in MS63 and $750 in MS65. Auction prices often come in below the guide: PCGS-graded coins have sold for about $110-135 in XF45, $190-265 in AU58, $310-550 in MS63, $400-590 in MS65 and $750-1,020 in MS66 (2020 to 2023). Our Jefferson nickel value guide uses the same ranges.

How to check: put the 3 under a 10x loupe in raking light. On the overdate, traces of the 2 show as extra raised metal, mostly along the lower part of the 3. A worn, flat or damaged 3 can mislead, so compare with a reference photo before getting excited.

What is the 1943-P doubled eye nickel?

A 1943-P struck from a doubled die obverse, catalogued by PCGS as the Doubled Eye, FS-106. The doubling is strongest at Jefferson's eye, which shows a second outline around the eye and lid. PCGS guide values are about $38 in VF20, $57 in XF40, $150 in AU58, $200 in MS63, $360 in MS65 and $1,100 in MS67. Real sales run a little lower: about $130-205 in AU58, $230-480 in MS65 and $650-1,060 in MS67. PCGS describes the doubling as also visible on LIBERTY, the date and IN GOD WE TRUST, and strong enough to see with a 5x glass.

Where should you sell 1943 nickels?

It depends on what you have. Common worn coins are a silver sale; varieties and gem coins are a collector sale.

Selling a handful of common 1943 nickels online rarely pays after fees and postage. A dealer offer near melt is usually the honest best. For a graded overdate or a Full Steps coin, a major auction reaches the collectors who pay the most. Our guide on how to sell coins compares the options in more detail.

A worked example

Say you inherit a coin folder of Jefferson nickels with eleven 1943 coins: six with a big P above the dome, three with a D and two with an S. All show wear.

All eleven are silver, about $36 in metal at $58. You check the six Philadelphia coins under a 10x loupe. Five have a clean 3 and a normal eye. On the sixth, Jefferson's eye has a clear second outline. That is the doubled eye, and in Very Fine it is worth about $38 in the PCGS guide, roughly ten times its silver. You keep it aside for a dealer to confirm and sell the other ten with the rest of your war nickels as silver.

Common mistakes

• Thinking only 1943-P nickels are silver. All three mints in 1943 struck silver nickels.
• Using a scale to test for silver. War nickels weigh 5.00 grams, the same as normal nickels.
• Mistaking a worn or damaged 3 for the overdate. Look for the raised outline of a 2, not wear.
• Mixing up 1942. In 1942, only nickels with the large P or S above the dome are silver; the regular 1942 and 1942-D are not.
• Cleaning war nickels. They tone dark naturally. Cleaning does not add silver and ruins collector value.

How WorthPic reads 1943 nickel photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. For a 1943 nickel it reads the date, finds the large mint mark above the dome, looks at the last digit of the date for the overdate and at Jefferson's eye for the doubled eye, and judges wear on the cheek and the columns. It then gives an honest value range based on silver at the current price, with a most likely figure, and says which close-up would settle a variety question. Small varieties can be hard to confirm in a phone photo, so it asks for a sharp close-up of the date or eye when needed. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• Both sides straight on, in even light.
• The mint mark above the dome close up.
• The date close up, sharp, under a single light, on any 1943-P.
• Jefferson's eye close up on any 1943-P.
• The steps under the columns on an uncirculated coin.

When to get it looked at in person

Worn common 1943 nickels sell as silver; a coin dealer will buy them without grading. A possible 1943/2-P overdate or doubled eye, or an uncirculated coin with full steps, is worth showing to a dealer or a coin club first and then sending to PCGS or NGC for attribution, since buyers pay for the attributed variety. Grading fees at PCGS start at $23 per coin for coins worth up to $300, plus membership and shipping, so for a worn doubled eye it can make sense to sell it raw to a variety dealer instead. For a quick sort of mixed change, what nickels are worth money.

Sources

• PCGS CoinFacts: 1943-P 5C: mintage, weight, composition and price guide values.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1943/2-P 5C: overdate guide values, auction results by grade and the $4,300 MS68 record.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1943-P Doubled Die Obverse (the Doubled Eye, FS-106): description, guide values, auction results and the $3,738 MS67 record.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1943-D 5C and 1943-S 5C: mintages and guide values.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1943-P 5C, Full Steps: the $14,688 MS68 Full Steps record.
• Kitco silver price: silver near $54 an ounce on October 23, 2026.