1943-P Jefferson Nickel (1938-Present)
Fivaz-Stanton Attribution
Key Features
The 1943/2-P overdate is the only overdate variety in the entire Jefferson nickel series, created when a working die was first hubbed with a 1942 master hub and then re-hubbed with the 1943 date, leaving a crisp "2" visible beneath the "3" â the bottom curve of the 2 protrudes clearly from the lower left of the 3. It was struck in the wartime 35% silver alloy and, though the mintage of the underlying date is large, genuine overdate examples are scarce, especially with the Full Steps reverse strike. The variety was not officially confirmed until 1977, decades after it was struck, so attribution against published FS-101 diagnostics is recommended before assuming a coin is the real variety rather than damage or die deterioration. If you believe you have found one of these coins, contact Frostbyte Coins at frostbytecoins@gmail.com or through our YouTube channel @FrostbyteCoins â we can help guide you toward professional third-party authentication through PCGS or NGC before any sale or purc
Intriguing History
With nickel needed for wartime armor plating, the Mint temporarily changed the five-cent piece's composition to 35% silver from 1942 through 1945 and marked these "war nickels" with an oversized mintmark above Monticello's dome, the first time a P for Philadelphia had ever appeared on U.S. coinage. This 1943 example was struck at the height of that wartime alloy change.