Please don't assume that all old coins are made of silver. All US nickels except special "war nickels" made during 1942-45 are struck in the same alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper.
There's more information at the question "What is the value of a 1937 US nickel?"
Copper-nickel, not silver. The only nickels that ever contained any silver were the famous "war nickels" made from 1942 to 1945, when silver replaced nickel metal because nickel was needed for the war effort.
Please don't assume that because a coin is old it has to be made of silver. Like modern nickels, all buffalo nickels were struck in an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Please see the question "What is the value of a 1937 US nickel?" for more information.
The coin is normally called either a Buffalo nickel or an Indian Head nickel. The entire buffalo is shown, not just its head, LOL! Please see the question "What is the value of a 1937 US nickel?" for more information.
The only years silver was used in US nickels was 1942-1945, the coin is face value.
Your nickel contains no silver. Only nickels made from 1942-1945 contain silver. See the related question below.
If you found it in change your nickel is only worth face value. US nickels made from 1866 to mid-1942 and from 1946 to the present are made of a copper-nickel alloy, not silver. In fact, no circulating US coins have contained any silver since 1969.
That's a silver war nickel, containing 35% silver, and it's worth at least $2.
The only US nickels to contain silver are those minted during WWII. A 1959 nickel in uncirculated condition might go for 25 cents.
See the related answers below.
That is known as a "war nickel" to save nickel for the war effort, the US government replaced some of the nickel in the nickel with silver. At the time of writing the silver content in them is around $1.70. The reason for the mintmark over the Monticello was that the idea was that people would know they contained silver.
US quarters were not made of silver in 1965, but rather of copper-nickel. The last silver quarter made for circulation in the US were produced in 1964.
All circulating dimes dated 1965 and later are made of copper-nickel, not silver.