1947-S Nickel

When I first started this coin blog in 2005 I never found any 1947 nickels in my change. It would have cost about $1.00 to buy the three different mint marks for this nickel but that would have been less fun. By April 2009 I found the plain old 1947 nickel. In September of last year I found the 1947-D. Last week I found the final one which is the 1947-S.

If you not a collector this may be difficult to understand but finding three coins in your change that you never owned is awesome. All those years passively collecting trying to find one of each without buying them seemed at times impossible. As each year passed the odds of finding a 1947 nickel grew worse.

As collectors know anything is possible, within reason, and it was reasonable that some 1947 nickels are still circulating in the U.S. One by one and not so coincidentally I found each in order. Of course this San Francisco mint mark was the least common and last one found.

I urge young or new collectors to start with your change, heck any change you can find, and start getting one of each. Take a few years to get a good base before buying anything. Even after you start buying you should always be hunting and pecking through your change for new pieces. Yes I still think of roll hunting as cheating since currently there is plenty of change to go around, that may change in a few years.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States
Year: 1947-S
Mintage: 24,720,000
Metal: 75% Copper 25% Nickel
Value: $0.20 in F-12

Do you have a nickel and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.