1964 Nickel - Is It Silver

Many folks wonder about the everyday things around them, and sometimes, a little piece of history in your pocket sparks a question. One common thought that pops up for people looking at old coins is about the 1964 nickel: is it silver? That year, 1964, was a period of big happenings, from musical groups arriving in America to new kinds of cars hitting the roads. It was, in some respects, a time when many things were shifting, and even the coins we use every day were about to go through a major transformation.

The year 1964 itself was quite a landmark on the calendar, truly. It saw the sentencing of Nelson Mandela, a big moment for human rights, and the approval of a resolution that would shape future events across the globe. On the lighter side, it was the year a certain nanny with magical abilities first appeared on the big screen, and a very popular horse race took place. All these bits of history, you know, sort of set the stage for how things were moving along, even for the money in our hands.

So, with all that going on, it’s fair to ask about the five-cent piece from that particular year. Did the changes of the time affect what these small pieces of money were made of? We'll take a look at what gives the 1964 nickel its makeup and what makes it a bit special, or not, when it comes to precious metals, in a way.

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Table of Contents

• What Makes a Nickel a Nickel?
• The Story of Silver in Our Coins
• Is the 1964 Nickel Different?
• The Big Change in 1965
• Why Did the 1964 Nickel Era End?
• What About the "War Nickels" and the 1964 Nickel?
• How Can You Tell What Your 1964 Nickel Is Made Of?
• What Your 1964 Nickel Means for Collectors

What Makes a Nickel a Nickel?

When we talk about a nickel, we're usually thinking of that familiar five-cent piece, right? For a long stretch of time, these small round bits of currency have had a pretty consistent recipe for what they are made of. Usually, they are a mix of two different types of metal. Most of the time, this blend is three-quarters copper and one-quarter nickel. This combination gives the coin its particular look and feel, and also helps it stand up to the wear and tear of being passed from hand to hand, basically. It's a formula that has served its purpose well for many, many years, you know.

This particular mix of metals, the copper and the nickel together, makes for a strong and lasting coin. It resists getting rusty and holds its shape pretty well, even after a lot of time in circulation. The use of nickel in the coin's name actually comes from the fact that it's a key part of what gives the coin its silvery shine, even though it's not truly silver. So, when you hold one of these five-cent pieces, you are holding a piece of metal made to be tough and useful for everyday buying and selling, in a way.

The Story of Silver in Our Coins

For a very long time, many of the coins used in daily life here in the United States, and elsewhere, actually contained a good amount of silver. Dimes, quarters, and half-dollars, for instance, were once made almost entirely of this shiny, valuable metal. This was a standard practice, as the worth of the coin was tied directly to the worth of the metal it held. People felt good about using money that had real value in its very makeup, you know, rather than just being a promise of value.

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However, the smaller coins, like the nickel, had a different story. Even before the big changes of the mid-1960s, the nickel, or five-cent piece, wasn't typically made of silver. Its name, "nickel," comes from the metal nickel itself, which was cheaper than silver and still gave the coin a nice, light color. So, if you were to look at the history of these smaller coins, you'd find that they followed a different path when it came to their ingredients, in some respects.

Is the 1964 Nickel Different?

This is where the year 1964 becomes a bit of a focal point for people who look at old coins. Many folks assume that because it was the last year before a big change in coinage, the 1964 nickel might have some silver in it, just like the dimes and quarters from that same year. But, the truth about the 1964 nickel is a little different from what you might expect, truly. It holds onto the traditional makeup for a five-cent piece, which means it doesn't contain any silver.

The 1964 nickel, like its earlier cousins, was made from that standard mix of 75% copper and 25% nickel. So, if you happen to find one of these coins, it's not going to have any precious silver content that would make it worth more than its face value, at least not for its metal. It's a common coin, and its worth is pretty much just five cents, unless it has some sort of special error or is in a truly amazing state of preservation, you know.

The Big Change in 1965

The year immediately following 1964 saw a really big shift in how American money was made. Starting in 1965, the United States Mint stopped putting silver into dimes, quarters, and half-dollars. This was a pretty important moment for the money system. These coins, which had been mostly silver for so long, were now made of what people call "clad" material. This clad makeup meant they had layers: a core of pure copper, sandwiched between two outer layers of a copper-nickel mix. This was a way to keep the coins looking similar but without using valuable silver, apparently.

This change was a direct response to some money matters happening at the time. The worth of silver was going up quite a bit, and it was getting to the point where the silver in a dime or a quarter was worth more than the coin's actual face value. When this happens, people start taking the coins out of circulation, melting them down for the silver, which creates a big problem for everyday buying and selling. So, the government had to make a move to keep coins available for everyone, you know.

Why Did the 1964 Nickel Era End?

The decision to remove silver from most coins was a direct result of the rising cost of silver itself. People were beginning to notice that the metal in their coins was becoming more valuable than the coins themselves, which led to folks hoarding them. When coins disappear from general use, it makes it very hard for people to buy and sell things, naturally. Imagine trying to get change for something if all the quarters and dimes were gone! This situation, in a way, made the existing coin system unsustainable.

So, the government had to step in and make a big change to the way coins were produced. The Coinage Act of 1965 was the official action that put an end to silver in our circulating money. This act meant that starting in 1965, almost all new dimes, quarters, and half-dollars would be made from the new clad material. This was done to ensure that coins would stay in circulation and that the money system would keep working smoothly for everyone, you know, at the end of the day.

What About the "War Nickels" and the 1964 Nickel?

Now, here's a little twist in the story of nickels and silver that sometimes adds to the confusion about the 1964 nickel. During World War II, from 1942 to 1945, the United States actually did make nickels with silver in them. These are known as "War Nickels." The reason for this temporary change was that nickel, the metal, was needed for the war effort, particularly for making armor and other military equipment. So, the government decided to take the nickel out of the five-cent piece and put in a different mix of metals, including silver, to save on the needed resource, basically.

These "War Nickels" are quite distinct. They contain 35% silver, along with copper and manganese. You can tell them apart because they have a large mint mark (a letter indicating where they were made) above the picture of Monticello on the back of the coin. This was a temporary measure, though. Once the war was over, the mint went back to the traditional copper-nickel blend for the five-cent piece. So, by the time 1964 rolled around, the nickel had been silver-free for almost two decades. This history, you know, sometimes makes people think that other nickels might have silver too, but that's not the case for the 1964 nickel.

How Can You Tell What Your 1964 Nickel Is Made Of?

If you've got a 1964 nickel in your hand and you're curious about its makeup, it's pretty straightforward to figure out. Since we know that the 1964 nickel is not made of silver, you won't need to do any special tests for precious metal content. What you're holding is a coin made of the standard copper-nickel mix. The easiest way to see this is by looking at the coin's edge. You won't see a distinct copper stripe, like you would on the clad dimes or quarters made after 1964, you know. It will have a consistent, silvery-gray color all the way through, which is typical for the copper-nickel alloy.

Another way to think about it is by its weight and feel. Silver coins tend to feel a little different in your hand compared to their clad or copper-nickel counterparts. However, for a 1964 nickel, it will feel just like any other nickel you might encounter today, because its composition is basically the same. There's no need for a magnet test either, as neither silver nor the copper-nickel mix is magnetic. So, if you're holding a 1964 nickel, you can be pretty sure it's the standard non-silver five-cent piece, as a matter of fact.

What Your 1964 Nickel Means for Collectors

For folks who enjoy gathering coins, the 1964 nickel is a common find. Since it doesn't contain silver and was produced in very large numbers, its worth is usually just its face value, which is five cents. It's not a rare item, nor does it have intrinsic value from precious metal. However, like any coin, its worth can go up if it's in truly exceptional condition, meaning it shows almost no signs of being used. A coin that looks like it just came from the mint, without any scratches or wear, might be worth a bit more to a collector, you know.

Also, sometimes there are what people call "error coins." These are coins that have some sort of mistake from the minting process, like a double image or an off-center strike. If a 1964 nickel has one of these unusual features, then it could be worth more than its usual five cents. But for the vast majority of 1964 nickels you might come across, they are simply a neat piece of history from a very eventful year, showing what everyday money was like just before a big change in our coinage system, in a way.

This piece looked at the question of whether the 1964 nickel contains silver, explaining its standard copper-nickel makeup. It covered the history of silver in US coinage, the big shift in 1965, and why the 1964 nickel remained silver-free, unlike some other coins from that period. We also touched upon the "War Nickels" as a point of comparison and discussed how to identify a 1964 nickel's composition, as well as its general meaning for those who gather coins.