Expert: Dan Moore - 2/14/2008

Question
I came accross 2 1940 nickels with no mint mark anywhere on the coins. They appear to be of the silver metal, as they do not have that brown color around the rim.  They are both pretty worn as far as wear showing some lines in Jefferson's hair.  The buildings on each coin are also worn - meaning you can not make out the steps but you can see that at one time they were visible.  Due to the lack of the non mint mark, I was curious if these coins had any value?  As far as the dime, it is a 1989-P dime but it looks to be smooshed in/cracked on the upper left hand section and the word "Liberty" is distorted/barely visible.  On the back the word "one" is distorted and elongated and the "E PLU & the bottor part of the stem" are equally distorted/barely visible. I found this to be strange.

Thank you, in advance, with anything you have to offer.

Cordially,

Felice

Answer
Felice,

1940 nickels are made of the same material as today's nickels -- copper and nickel -- they would not have the copper stripe along the edge.  The only silver nickels were minted in the 1942-1945 WWII era and would have a large letter (P, D, or S) above the building on the back.  In worn condition these would be worth about 30 cents apiece.

Without seeing it I cannot be 100% sure, but it sounds like your 1989 dime has been damaged -- no added value.

I hope this helps,

Dan