I just got a nickel from 1939 in my change today...

[Reverend_Smitty]

I got change this morning from the deli and happened to look down at the date of the nickle and it was from 1939. It really astounds me to find a coin that has been in circulation for almost 70 years. I know it's not worth anything special but it fascinates me to think about how many hands that this one little coin has been in.

[JVS]

1. I think you'd better sit down and watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWTApIE9zw0&search=ass%20pennies

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. I've seen that before...lol

it's funny and it really makes you think...and makes you want to wash your hands as well...lol

[commander bunnypants]

3. I* got a 1944 penny minted in San Fran

Used to a have a 1903 but I lost it.

CB

[Zomby Woof]

4. Just preparing for the Depression again

Might as well bring back the coins in vogue from the first one.:o

[Tyrone Slothrop]

5. I got a buffalo nickel the other day

It's so old and worn, I can't even make out the date.

I frequently get wheat pennies, but I hadn't seen a buffalo nickel since I collected coins when I was growing up.

[Reverend_Smitty]

8. I just googled buffalo nickels...

looks like 1938 was the last year they made them...I guess I got one of the the first Jefferson nickels

[femmocrat]

9. I'll give you a dime for it! n/t

[Reverend_Smitty]

11. lol...that's probably what it is worth

I think I'll hold onto it though since it is almost as old as my grandparents

[Guava Jelly]

23. they actually made 3 jefferson nickles in 1938

1938 plain 19.5 million
1938 d 5.4 million
1938 s 4.1 million

1939 plain 120.6 million
1939 d 3.5 million
1939 s 6.6 million

[anarch]

6. That's like the time I got a 1943 copper penny back in some change

I figured it meant something, so I put it into one of those "make your penny into a good-luck charm" machines at a rest stop on the Jersey turnpike. Now it's all stretched out, with a picture of a unicorn on it.

[BrotherBuzz]

13. Ouch, you didn't, did you?

:rofl:

[Book Lover]

7. I carry a 1932 quarter in my wallet for good luck

I got it back in some change and noticed the date, too. Thinking about what a quarter bought in 1932 made me want to keep it.

[calico1]

10. I have several old coins.

The buffalo nickel, the older dime (before FDR), pennies, quarters when they were all silver. I agree its interesting to wonder how many people's hands these coins passed thru.

[Reverend_Smitty]

12. My dad has a whole bunch of old change

he was a coin collector as a kid and still has quite a bit of his collection. This kind of makes me want to go through it and see what he's got

[TechBear_Seattle]

15. Nickels, including buffalo nickels, have usually been made from...

(insert drum roll)




Nickel. That is why that coin is named for the metal. The Jefferson nickel, however, was made with silver for part of 1942 and all of 194, 44 and 45.

During WW II, nickel was one of the metals classed as vital for the war effort. As part of the War Powers Act in 1942, Congress ordered the US Mint to cease using nickel for coinage.

At first, the plan was to make the coins 50/50 silver and copper. But rising silver prices and the weight of the 5 cent piece meant that they would hold more intrinsic value than a dime. Eventually, the Mint settled on 35% silver, 56% copper, and 9% manganese. Production of the new "nickels" started in September of 42, and continued through December of 1945. In January 46, the Mint resumed coining nickels with the previous alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper. It is estimated that the US was able to reallocate some 1400 tons of nickel for the war.

To show the change in composition of the "wartime silver" coin, the mint mark was moved from beside the Montecello to above it, and increased in size. All of these coins received a mint mark, including those struck at the "default" mint in Philadelphia (rather than being struck without a mark, wartime silver "nickels" were given a mint mark of P.)

For similar reasons, the US Mint made pennies out of a steel coated in zinc in 1943, in order to reallocate copper for the war. (Even with copper being used in "nickels", some 400 tons of copper were reallocated by the Mint that year.) That proved unnecessary and the traditional bronze was resumed in 1944. There are 40 known bronze 1943 pennies, one of the rarest US coins, made in Denver when (apparently) several bronze "blanks" were still in the hopper waiting to be struck when the new metal was started.

[calico1]

16. Fascinating stuff.

Now quarters were made of all silver at one time, right? My mom had a small change purse filled with them. During the last years of her life she kept giving me mementos probably because she knew that of all her kids I am the one who likes to collect and save stuff like this. Anyway I have the change purse somewhere. Oh, there were also a bunch of JFK half dollars too.

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. Dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars...

Through 1964, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollar coins were made with 90% silver (I think the rest was copper.) In 1965, dimes and quarters were switched to a "sandwich" design of nickel on the outside and pure copper on the inside. The half dollar continued with an alloy with 40% silver until it, too, was made into a copper sandwich starting in 1971.

Dollar coins ceased to be official US currency in 1935, when the last "Peace Dollar" was minted. They were reintroduced in 1971 bearing the face of President Eisenhower on the obverse and a tribute to the Apollo moon landings on the reverse; it had the same sandwiched construction as dimes and quarters. The latter Susan B. Anthony dollar was sandwiched. I haven't been able to find the composition of the new Sacagawea dollar, but I expect it, too, is made from base metals.

[trogdor]

22. Wartime coins were crap.

After '43, they used recovered brass from military firing ranges to make pennies. These weren't quite up to the Mint's quality standards, but they were better than the steelies, which were made from scrap steel and coated with zinc so they wouldn't dissolve until after they left the mint. The zinc wore off quickly, and after that, they'd leave rust stains in people's pockets.

The "nickels" didn't have the same properties of the original alloy, and they didn't strike very well as a result. Go to a coin store and find an uncirculated one, and you'll see what I mean. Really poor detail.

[TechBear_Seattle]

26. They were crap, alright

But the Mint did the best it could, given the very widespread shortages during WW II.

[HEyHEY]

14. That is cool

I love getting really old change. I got a nickel from the 50s about two weeks ago. Back when Canada had a rabbit on them, for some reason.
My mom has the neatest though, she's got a penny from Newfoundland from the 30s... so that's when they were still their own country.

[Mutley]

17. I have a steel penny from 1943, and a buffalo nickel.

I think I have a penny from 1936, but I can't remember. Yeah, it's kind of cool to get these old coins and think about all the places they've been.

[hfojvt]

18. it might be worth something more

if it is a D or an S. The mint mark, if there is one would be on the back side just above the right foundation of Monticello. They made Jefferson nickels in 1938 too, but the 1939-D is pretty rare.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Weird! I Had A Similar Thing Happen Last Friday

I got change for something i paid for with a twenty. I got a $10 bill back that was printed in 1951! A 55 year old $10 bill. It is still in pretty decent shape. It looks SO different. The lettering is smaller and has a slightly different look, since it's a little blockier or something. (Sorry i'm at a loss for a better description.) Hamilton's picture is so small compared to the newer bills!

I haven't spent it yet. Sort of just diggin' holding on to it for a while.

The Professor

[1monster]

29. People getting old currency and coins in their change is not a good

sign. It means that someone is desperate enough to use their collections for necessities.

I got lucky one evening at a gas station when a person used a small bag full of Sacajaweja dollars. The clerk didn't want them in her drawer, so I bought them...

[politicat]

30. I use Saccies all the time.... I get them in change at the post office.

When I need stamps, I usually end up with a handful of saccies. I like them. In fact, I have a tendency to go buy them on purpose, especially if I'm going to ren faire or some other place where I'll be leaving dollar tips.

[catmandu57]

21. Either some kid raided their parent's collection

or someone got desperate enough to dig into the change they've been collecting.

[smitty]

24. I suspect the former. A friend of mine worked in a convenience

store, he told me that kids often came in with collectible coins which were probably stolen from their parents. A coin collector wouldn't use a collectible coin to buy food/drink but would try first to sell it to another collector or a coin store. Some coins have value far, far in excess of their face value.

[hfojvt]

25. once in the mid 1970s I was collecting for my paper route

the adult at the door said he ran out of change and had to raid the dime box. I ended up with three silver dimes! But this was before silver got really valuable. At that time you could still get the 1964-68 half dollars in circulation which were 40% silver.

Edit: there are also some 1939 nickels in circulation. Not very many, but not zero either. A 1939-D probably came from a collection but not necessarily a 1939-P

[unpossibles]

27. cool! I have been doing some work on my house

and have found an old penny (late 40's or early '50's I think...), a plumb bob, and an old raisin box in the wall.

[Guava Jelly]

28. I have been collecting coins on and off since 1985

I am only three nickles short of completing a run from 1938 -1960
1948 d
1951 d
1955 plain
I once found a 1938 d in my change.

Note to those collecting coins..
You will never get rich off of them.
Collect them for fun.

[CatholicEdHead]

31. My oldest change ever was a very worn 1924 Penny

It was slick but much heavier than any newer pennies. That one is tucked safely away. That was only 3 years ago I recieved that penny at the grocery store.

[jobycom]

32. It made you happier than a coin minted last year would have, so obviously

it is worth something special.

[Guava Jelly]

33. I agree with you

I remember the first coin I ever found.. I still have it
Oh hell here's a picture
I was playing in a park 8 years old in san diego calif.
I was up on a hill and i looked down at the dry powdery dirt and i saw a wierd shaped metal object.
I picked it up and found it was a 1960 Square nickle from india..As A 8 year old I thought it was so cool.
It's still my favorite coin even though it probably isn't worth 5 cents

[jobycom]

35. My seven year old was given a foreign coin by a friend

and she's fascinated by them, now. The coin was from Nicaraugua. Her friend told her "That's in Africa!" :rofl: Interesting to know you've kept the interest for so long. It tells me I should pay more attention to such things when she talks about them.

[Sequoia]

34. I got a coin from Saudia Arbia

and also a Euro Coin. Also, I just find coins on the street from Hong Kong. I have a little basket full of coins from other countries but not near enough.

[NJ Democrats]

36. Last year I got something from a bookstore

and got a penny in change. Turns out that penney was from 1919.