The two known varieties are both rare. The easier one to spot is a 1942/43 overdate, where there is a shadow "2" underneath the "3" in the date. The other exhibits doubling around Jefferson's eye.
Uh, look for the mint mark.
It's sitting above the dome of Monticello, on the coin's reverse.
The US never made steel nickels. All wartime nickels were made of an alloy of copper, manganese, and silver. You may be thinking of the famous 1943 cents that were struck from scrap steel.
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King Nicholas I of Montenegro...
Composition of US Nickels is 75% Copper and 25% Nickel
Nickels are composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
Mintage of the 1943-P Jefferson nickel is 271,165,000.
1943 makes it one of the silver war nickels, currently worth about $1.60.
No they are not all doubled eye. It is not known how many there are.
Over one hundred million 104,060,000
They were struck at all 3 Mints, other than that, no difference.
The 1943 Lincoln cents only weigh 2.70 grams and are made of zinc coated steel and will stick to a magnet.
Liberty nickels were minted from 1883 to 1912. All nickels minted since 1938 have been Jefferson nickels, and ALL coins carry the word Liberty.Please see the Related Question for more information.
If you have a buffalo one, something is wrong. The last Buffalo nickels were made in 1938.
All 1943 US nickels were struck in an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese.Nickel metal was needed for the war effort, so special "war nickels" were minted from October 1942 to December 1945. They can be identified by a somewhat darker color and a large mintmark letter over the dome of Monticello. Internet rumors to the contrary, these are the only US nickels that ever contained any silver.
Please check again and post a new question. Buffalo nickels were struck from 1913 to 1938. Any nickel dated 1943 would be a familiar Jefferson nickel.
If you have a buffalo one, something is wrong. The last Buffalo nickels were made in 1938.
Indian head (buffalo) nickels were minted from 1913 to 1938. They are worth $50