5 Cent Nickel: U.S. Five-Cent Coin Types and Values

The 5 cent nickel is the U.S. five-cent coin, struck since 1866 in an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel, weighing 5.000 g and measuring 21.21 mm (Wikipedia). It is named after that nickel content. Four designs have been used:

• Shield nickel, 1866–1883.
• Liberty Head (V) nickel, 1883–1913. The first 1883 coins lacked the word CENTS, only a V; because they were about the size of a five-dollar gold piece, some were gold-plated and passed as $5 coins, and the design was changed the same year.
• Buffalo nickel, 1913–1938, by James Earle Fraser.
• Jefferson nickel, 1938 to today. The 2004–2005 Westward Journey reverses marked the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, and Monticello returned in 2006.

Making a nickel cost 13.78 cents in 2024 (Wikipedia), almost three times its face value.

No U.S. nickel is pure silver. The only nickels with silver are the wartime coins of 1942 to 1945, made of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese to save nickel for the war (Wikipedia). You can spot them by the large mint mark above Monticello's dome on the back; they were also the first U.S. coins to carry a P for Philadelphia. CoinValueChecker values common war nickels at $4 to $5 or more each in any grade, mostly for their silver.

Values below are from CoinValueChecker (2026) unless noted:

• 1913 Liberty Head: 5 known and never authorized by the Mint (Wikipedia). One sold for $4,200,000 in October 2022 (Wikipedia); CoinValueChecker gives the auction record as $4,560,000.
• 1918/7-D Buffalo overdate: record $511,875 (2024).
• 1926-S Buffalo: the lowest Buffalo mintage, 970,000 (Wikipedia); record $322,000.
• 1916 Doubled Die Obverse Buffalo: record $281,750.
• 1937-D three-legged Buffalo: a Denver press operator polished one of the bison's legs off the die (Wikipedia); record $99,875.
• Shield nickels: common dates $15 to $50; the 1880 is $200 or more even worn.
• Liberty Head nickels: common dates $1 to $10.
• Buffalo nickels: common dates $0.50 to $5.
• Jefferson nickels: most are face value to $5; the 1950-D, 1939 Doubled Monticello and 1964 SMS are the scarce ones.

Record prices are for exceptional coins; a worn example of the same date sells for far less.

• Find the date. It was raised on the coin and wore off quickly (Wikipedia), so many Buffalo nickels have a partial or missing date. A full, clear date adds value.
• Find the mint mark under FIVE CENTS on the back. No letter means Philadelphia. D and S coins of the 1910s and 1920s, such as the 1913-S Type 2, 1921-S, 1924-S and 1926-S, are the scarce ones (CoinValueChecker).
• Check the ground under the bison. On 1913 Type 1 coins the bison stands on a mound; on Type 2 and later it stands on a flat line (Wikipedia).
• Count the legs on a 1937-D. Three legs is the valuable variety.
• Look at the date of a 1918-D under a magnifier for a 7 under the 8.

Do not clean or treat the coin to bring out a worn date; the coin care guide explains why cleaning lowers value.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Prices are copied from the named price guide or auction report with its date; where a figure could not be confirmed we say so rather than estimate. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.