Little Known Facts About The Nickel

The nickel has been through many changes since its creation in the 1790s, both in design and material.

During the Civil War, fearful of financial crisis or governmental collapse, many Americans stockpiled silver and gold coins. These hoarded coins were actually more valuable than paper money because the value of the metals used to make the coins was more than the nominal value engraved on the coin.

As coins vanished and gold and silver resources diminished, the U.S. Mint could not produce the nation’s coins. The United States turned its attention to a different type of metal — nickel.

In May of 1866, a new coin emerged composed of nickel and copper later to be known as “nickel”. After years of coin shortages, nickels flooded the economy. The government minted 15 million five-cent nickels, drastically exceeding its counterpart, the silver half-dime, of which fewer than 200,000 were produced the prior year.

The nickel was the coin of choice for a long time, even with the dime and quarter being of greater value. This is greatly due to the rise of coin-operated machines such as vending machines and jukeboxes. There were also nickel theaters and, for 73 years, a bottle of Coca-Cola was only five cents.

The story of the nickel has come full-circle. Once considered “cheap metal,” nickel and copper have increased in value over the past one hundred and fifty years. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that it costs eight cents to produce every five-cent piece. Thinking about melting your nickels? Don’t. The act has been illegal since 2006.

Here is a list of the top five most valuable nickels minted in the United States since the late 1800’s.