The World War II years were difficult years historically, but they were also incredibly important years numismatically. During the 1942-1945 span, some of the most significant ( and valuable) coin rarities were minted, possibly due in part to the loss of experienced workers at the U.S. Mint to the service.
Arguably, there were more interesting and collectible coins struck during this 4 year period than at any other similar time span in the history of the mint. This article presents the most popular of those, but many more could certainly be included. Here is a list of the cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars that are the most important, several of which are extremely rare. Many can still be cherrypicked by the astute collector.
Coins to look for:
Cents
- 1943 Copper ( all 3 mints)
- 1943-D/D Repunched Mintmark * 1943/2-S Overdate
- 1944 Steel ( all 3 mints)
- 1944-D/S Overmintmark
Nickels
- 1942-D/Horiz. D
- 194 3/2-P Overdate
- 1943-P Doub. Die Obv.(eye)
- 1945-P Doub. Die Rev.
- 1945-S Full Steps
Dimes
- 1942/1-P Overdate
- 1942/2-D Overdate
- 1945-P Full Bands
Quarters
- 1942-D Doubled Die Obverse
- 1942-D Doubled Die Reverse
- 1943-S Doubled Die Obverse
Halves
- 1942-P Doubled Die Reverse
From the above list, your best chance of finding a collectible coin probably lies in the Jefferson nickel series. Check all Wartime nickel coins carefully for any varieties and the 1944-S and especially the 1945-S issues for Full Step pieces.
