The U.S. stopped minting silver half-dimes in 1873, a few years after the introduction of the nickel. The only nickels that actually contain silver are "war" nickels minted 1942-1945.
stop using silver in nickels
The only U.S. nickels to contain any silver are dated 1942-1945, and can be identified by the large mint mark above Monticello. All nickels before and after are the same nickel/copper blend still used today.
Silver was only used in nickels from 1942-1945 on coins with a large mintmark over the Monticello (some nickels in 1942 do not have the large mintmark and are of the standard composition), these coins are 35% silver. All other nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel.
Many people are confused by when US nickels contained silver. The only US nickels that contained any silver were special "war nickels" made from late 1942 to 1945. All other US nickels dating back to the coin's introduction in 1866 are made of the same alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper.War nickels were made of an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese because nickel metal was needed for the war effort. These coins are distinguished by a large mint mark letter over the dome of Monticello on the back.
Buffalo nickels were made from 1913 to 1938. 1938 buffalo nickels were only made at Denver, as a temporary measure until the new Jefferson design was ready.
stop using silver in nickels
The only U.S. nickels to contain any silver are dated 1942-1945, and can be identified by the large mint mark above Monticello. All nickels before and after are the same nickel/copper blend still used today.
According to the US Mint website 5 cent coins are still in production. However, between the years 1942 and 1945 it wouldn't have been correct to call them nickles because there wasn't any nickel in them. Nickel was being conserved for the war effort and 5 cent coins were made of silver, copper, and manganese.
"They" have not stopped making 20 cent coins.
The last year for the Canadian silver 5-cent piece was 1921, except those coins weren't called nickels because they didn't contain any nickel. The Canadian nickel (actually made of nickel) was then introduced in 1922.
Silver was only used in nickels from 1942-1945 on coins with a large mintmark over the Monticello (some nickels in 1942 do not have the large mintmark and are of the standard composition), these coins are 35% silver. All other nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel.
Many people are confused by when US nickels contained silver. The only US nickels that contained any silver were special "war nickels" made from late 1942 to 1945. All other US nickels dating back to the coin's introduction in 1866 are made of the same alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper.War nickels were made of an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese because nickel metal was needed for the war effort. These coins are distinguished by a large mint mark letter over the dome of Monticello on the back.
Buffalo nickels were made from 1913 to 1938. 1938 buffalo nickels were only made at Denver, as a temporary measure until the new Jefferson design was ready.
In 1965.
From mid-1942 to 1945 US nickels were made of an alloy of 35% silver, 56% copper, and 9% manganese because nickel metal was needed for the war effort. All other US nickels minted from 1866 to mid-1942 and from 1946 to the present are made of an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
1867
Nickels (5-cent coins) are still made. They are 75% copper and 25% nickel and cost more than 9 cents each to produce. The metal value in 2011 was about 7 cents. Shield nickels were made from 1866 to 1883. Liberty nickels were made beginning in 1883 and stopped in 1912. The Buffalo nickels were made beginning in 1913 and stopped in 1938. The "Jefferson profile" obverse coins were replaced with new versions in 2005 with another change in 2006.