1942 Error Nickel Question

William-NM · Apr 23, 2012

I found these four items in the middle of nowhere in the Gila NF. Love when that happens!

Both Nickels are worn 1942's, the Nickel on the right is a 35% silver war nickel (Large S mint mark). The other is not silver, but seems to have a mint error.

My question is: does it have any value and how would you describe the error? It doesn't look like a die crack or the usual errors... any help would be appreciated!! :?:

Porsche914 · Apr 23, 2012

Interesting that you found both the silver and non silver version of the 1942 nickel. Cool find

DougF · Apr 23, 2012

I'm not an expert, but it might be a lamination error, which is caused by a defect in the metal used by the mint. Don't think it's real valuable, though. I have a dateless buffalo nickel that has something similar.

Cowboy26a · Apr 23, 2012

I'm no expert either, but I believe that is called a die break. Nickels are not laminated. They are an alloy instead of layered. just my 2 cents.

kelpike · Apr 23, 2012

I looked it up in a error coin book I have and there was nothing listed about it.

William-NM · Apr 23, 2012

Thanks for the replies, guys! I just wasn't familiar with this type of error and there's always hope!!

Jhkramer · Apr 23, 2012

It's a lamination error. When they put silver copper and manganese in war nickels they didn't bond too well and when the alloy was stretched into sheets a spot where it didn't bond also stretched. Then this spot was cut into a planchet. what you see is one layer of material that didn't bond too well to the layer below is flaking up. The war nickel is not clad however, the alloy is continuous through the coin. Lamination errors are more common in war nickels than any other coin because of the poor bonding qualities of the material used. They usually don't bring much of a premium over melt if any. I have pulled a few out of rolls I have bought for melt.

**edit** sorry just read it was the non silver nickel. Ignore my post.

DougF · Apr 24, 2012

Lamination errors can occur even in non-layered (non-clad) coins. The Redbook has an example which is a 1940 Lincoln cent. They say when the metal strip is rolled out to the proper thickness, sometimes dirt or gas oxides are trapped, causing the metal to separate later.

William-NM · Apr 24, 2012

Thanks, guys - at least I know what to call it now! I appreciate you sharing your expertise. It's a keeper - it was cool to find both the silver and non-silver 1942 nickels in one hole, and my first lamination error coin.

1942 Error Nickel Question

William-NM

Full Member

Porsche914

Elite Member

DougF

Elite Member

Cowboy26a

Senior Member

kelpike

Elite Member

William-NM

Full Member

Jhkramer

Elite Member

DougF

Elite Member

William-NM

Full Member

Similar threads