USA 5 cents Classic Jefferson Nickel 1942
USA, San Francisco
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Krause number | KM# 192a |
| Mintage | 32,900,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.350 |
| thickness | 1.95 mm |
| diameter | 21.21 mm |
| weight | 5 g |
Obverse:
Head of state
Description:
Thomas Jefferson (3rd President of the USA)
Creators:
Felix Oscar Schlag (FS)
IN GOD WE TRUST
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Constructions
Description:
Monticello (Virginia, U.S.)
Creators:
Felix Oscar Schlag (FS)
E PLURIBUS UNUM
FIVE CENTS
MONTICELLO
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
The San Francisco Mint did not coin five-cent pieces of the conventional composition at all during 1942. It joined Philadelphia in striking the new wartime alloy coins in the final months of the year. The copper-silver-manganese alloy was quite soft in relation to the pre-war composition, and this both increased the useful life of dies and the percentage of sharply struck coins. Thus, most 1942 S nickels are quite pleasing to the eye, and the percentage of 5FS and 6FS coins is higher than usual for an S-Mint nickel. On the down side, all wartime composition issues wore very quickly in circulation while simultaneously becoming quite dark due to the low fineness of the silver. Repunched mintmark (RPM) varieties are numerous, but none of them are particularly attractive to non-specialists.Read More
