Rare 1940 Nickel Errors (List & Pictures)
The 1940 Jefferson Nickel errors below include both minting mishaps and collectible die varieties, with estimated values from $5–$30,000. A rare Proof with the older Reverse of 1938 reached $28,750 in January 2011.
Use the outline and metal to narrow the possibilities before studying letters and steps. The rare Proof result belongs to a particular reverse design and exceptional condition, so it cannot price an ordinary coin with a doubled letter.
1. 1940 Nickel A Brown Nickel on a Smaller Disc: Cent Planchet Error
The recorded Philadelphia cent-planchet error has nickel lettering that cannot fit entirely on its smaller copper blank. Portions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and IN GOD WE TRUST disappear beyond the edge.
A planchet is the prepared blank that receives the design. This example touched the collar near 4 o’clock and was graded PCGS MS63 Brown.
How to Identify
For basic measurements, a normal 1940 nickel is about 5 grams and 21.2 millimeters, with a plain edge and 75% copper, 25% nickel composition. An old copper cent blank instead starts around 3.11 grams and 19 millimeters.
Combine suitable measurements with naturally cropped and stretched lettering. Brown staining, a copper coating, or later trimming cannot be ruled out by color alone.
The 4 o’clock contact belongs to the described specimen. An unused cent blank does not need to retain Lincoln’s portrait beneath Jefferson.
What It’s Worth
Confirmed cent-planchet examples are estimated at $600–$2,000. The MS63 Brown specimen realized $990 on September 10, 2019.
That result gives a direct comparison for an unworn early Jefferson error with visible marks. Better preservation or a different arrangement of the surviving design can affect another coin’s value.
2. 1940 Nickel Metal Is Missing at the Edge: Clipped or Ragged Blank Error
A smooth curved opening and a rough irregular edge can have different origins before striking. The first can result from overlapping blanking punches; the second can reflect a strip edge or defective metal.
Both incomplete-blank forms are reported for 1940. A ragged appearance particularly needs examination because a later fracture can look similar.
How to Identify
Follow the design into the gap and inspect the exposed edge for tool marks. Letters cut abruptly by a saw or file tell a different story from a blank that was incomplete when struck.
A curved clip may have a weak rim opposite the opening, although that clue is not compulsory. Reduced weight confirms missing material but cannot establish when it disappeared.
What It’s Worth
Genuine incomplete blanks are estimated at $20–$300. Larger, clearly preserved gaps with a readable date can be more appealing than small worn examples.
A 1997-P nickel with a 20% clip brought $124 in March 2025. That later sale does not establish a size, mint, or completed price for either reported 1940 form.
3. 1940 Nickel Blank Metal Remains beside a Shifted Design: Off-Center Strike Error
An off-center strike leaves solid unused metal on one side while part of the design misses the opposite edge. The supplied 1940 examples range from a 15% Philadelphia displacement to separate San Francisco pieces described as 55% and 60% off center.
The 60% S example points toward 8 o’clock and also has a large reverse area struck through material. Its obstruction is an additional feature of that same coin.
How to Identify
Photograph the surviving date and mint area before estimating the displacement. If the area where an S would appear is missing, that absence cannot prove Philadelphia origin.
On the 60% coin, distinguish the reverse obstruction inside the struck area from metal left entirely outside the strike. The smooth appearance of a blocked patch does not identify its material.
What It’s Worth
The estimated range is $75–$1,250. The 15% Philadelphia example, graded MS64 Full Steps, sold for $218.50 in October 2010.
The 60% San Francisco piece had a historical $298 minimum bid, which is not a confirmed sale. No price is assigned to the separate 55% collection specimen.
4. 1940 Nickel The Whole Design Fits on Expanded Metal: Broadstrike Error
A wide blank border can appear when the collar fails to hold the coin to its normal diameter. Metal spreads outward during the strike, but the complete design remains on the coin.
The reported 1940 broadstrike category has no single established mint or finish. Expansion can be uneven, so a broadstrike need not form a perfect enlarged circle.
How to Identify
Trace the outer inscriptions on both faces before measuring width. If the design runs off the metal, investigate an off-center strike instead.
Examine the enlarged border for crushed lettering, hammer blows, or squeezing marks. Later flattening can widen a nickel without producing a mint broadstrike.
What It’s Worth
A recognizable example is estimated at $30–$250, with clear expansion and attractive surfaces supporting the better comparisons. No direct 1940 sale is supplied here.
A 1999-P broadstrike sold for $89 in March 2025. Its later date makes it a reference for the error type rather than an exact-year result.
5. 1940 Nickel A Stepped Edge Accompanies Repeated Detail: Double Strike and Partial Collar Error
The known Philadelphia example records two problems together: a double strike in the collar and a partial-collar effect. PCGS graded the coin MS64.
Only part of its edge was properly contained, leaving a ledge where restrained metal meets metal that spread farther. The repeated impression on the faces supplies evidence for the extra blow.
How to Identify
Use a side view to document the edge step, then trace recognizable repeated design segments on the faces. Neither an uneven rim alone nor a thick letter proves the full combination.
Check that later grinding or squeezing does not explain the altered edge. The proposed minting sequence needs to account for both the ledge and the second impression.
What It’s Worth
Comparable combinations are estimated at $250–$1,500. The PCGS MS64 coin brought $517.50 at Heritage on October 31, 2010.
The sale prices one double-struck, partial-collar nickel. It does not provide separate amounts for the two features.
6. 1940 Nickel A Flake Lifts or the Disc Separates: Lamination and Split Planchet Error
Weakness within the metal can leave a peeling surface flake, known as a lamination. A deeper separation can split the blank into thinner pieces.
The 1940 reports cover both forms without establishing one shared specimen or a fixed time of separation. This solid copper-nickel alloy has no plated outer shell to peel from a different core.
How to Identify
For a thin piece, compare the two faces: a rough inner surface and a surface bearing a strike reveal different stages of manufacture. Do not assume every split occurred after the design was applied.
Grinding lines or saw marks differ from a natural separation within the metal. Leave a lifted flap untouched and keep matching pieces together without rubbing their faces against one another.
What It’s Worth
Small laminations are estimated at $10–$100; a substantial identified split piece or matched pair at roughly $75–$500. The two ranges describe different objects.
A complete 1952 pair split after striking realized $322 in August 2006. That other-year two-piece result cannot automatically price a shallow peel or a lone 1940 fragment.
7. 1940 Nickel Bands Cross the Original Surface: Uneven Alloy Error
Different-colored bands may suggest that the blank’s metals were not mixed uniformly. The reported 1940 defective-alloy type does not identify a tested composition or a specific foreign blank.
The question is whether the pattern belongs within the metal. A stain or coating can create a striking appearance without a mint-made alloy defect.
How to Identify
Follow a band over the portrait and lettering to see whether the original struck surface continues through it. Distinguish a color change from an area where metal is actually missing.
Do not scrape a bright test patch. Preserving the surface lets a specialist assess coatings and decide whether composition testing is useful.
What It’s Worth
A convincing uneven-alloy appearance is estimated at $5–$100. This modest range does not price a confirmed foreign or experimental planchet.
No individual material-tested 1940 auction result is supplied. Distinctive bands on intact original surfaces offer a stronger case than vivid color alone.
8. 1940 Nickel An Unusually Dark Surface: Improper Annealing Error
Annealing heats blanks to soften the metal before striking. Poor conditions during that process can affect the surface and produce a darker finished coin.
The 1940 report does not establish a particular mint or tested specimen. Later heat, chemicals, and ordinary staining remain possible explanations for a dark candidate.
How to Identify
Compare protected spaces beside the letters with exposed areas under neutral light. Pitting, a separate coating, and the survival of original surface texture all matter.
Retain the dark surface for examination rather than cleaning it away. A smaller copper-colored disc calls for a wrong-planchet investigation, not an automatic annealing label.
What It’s Worth
A convincing mint-heating error is estimated at $15–$150. Ordinary staining does not qualify simply because its shade resembles an attributed example.
A 1960 Philadelphia nickel described as improperly annealed sold for $89 in June 2026. It is a later-date comparison, not a recorded 1940 transaction.
9. 1940 Nickel A Patch Interrupts Otherwise Sharp Detail: Struck Through Error
An obstruction can prevent the die from fully reaching one portion of a blank. Soft material may leave weak detail, while a firmer object can produce a clearer depression or texture.
No specific face, object, or mint is established for the general 1940 report. Missing letters alone cannot identify what blocked them.
How to Identify
Include nearby normal detail when photographing the affected patch. Its boundary can help distinguish a local obstruction from wear across the coin’s exposed high points.
Look for grinding lines where a design may have been removed after minting. If material remains attached, leave it in place.
What It’s Worth
Modest genuine strike-throughs are estimated at $15–$200. A distinct impression is usually easier to explain and compare than slight general weakness.
A 2000 Philadelphia nickel struck through material brought $84 in February 2015. Neither its substance nor its appearance should be assigned to a 1940 coin without evidence.
10. 1940 Nickel A Raised Patch Replaces Design: Die Break Error
When a piece breaks out of a die, coin metal can fill the new opening. The result is raised metal where the tool can no longer form its usual detail.
A documented 1940-S example has a front die break and an NGC MS64 Five Full Steps grade. Five Full Steps refers to Monticello’s stair detail, rather than another error.
How to Identify
Find the S to the right of Monticello and compare the complete front with the documented specimen. Its exact break position cannot be borrowed from another coin in the auction group.
Inspect how the raised patch meets the surrounding surface. Added metal may have a seam, while impact damage can push metal upward beside a dent; a die break need not always touch the rim.
What It’s Worth
An identified 1940 die break is estimated at $15–$350. Larger recognizable breaks generally attract more attention than small chips.
The San Francisco MS64 Five Full Steps coin was part of a four-coin lot that brought $143.75 in August 2010. The total is not an individual sale price for that nickel.
11. 1940 Nickel Traces of the Opposite Design Appear: Die Clash Error
An unexpected outline may make sense when compared with the other face of the coin. If the dies meet without a blank between them, they can mark each other and transfer those traces to later coins.
The 1940 clash report provides no fixed mint or exact outline. A candidate must demonstrate a relationship to the opposing design.
How to Identify
Align photographs of the two designs as they would face each other in the press, using a mirrored image where needed. Several matching traces carry more weight than an isolated unexplained line.
A full recessed mirror image made by contact with a struck coin is a different error. Do not require every clash trace to have identical raised or sunken appearance.
What It’s Worth
A genuine recognizable 1940 clash is estimated at $10–$175. Clear connected traces support stronger comparisons than a faint line with several possible explanations.
No specific 1940 sale is assigned here. Stronger later Jefferson clashes cannot establish the value of an uncertain mark on this date.
12. 1940 Nickel A Second D or S Peeks Out: Repunched Mintmark Error
Workers added the mint letter to each die with a separate punch. A repeated application in a shifted position could leave overlapping D or S outlines on the coins.
Denver reports include lower and tilted D forms, with one possible inverted-punch interpretation. A San Francisco example shows an extra S below the main letter.
How to Identify
Examine the mint letter beside Monticello and compare the extra strokes with the 1940 repunched-mintmark photographs. Philadelphia coins have no mint letter in that position.
Trace the actual lower or tilted outline instead of relying on a thick-looking letter. A possible inverted punch needs its own matching evidence; damage to a corner cannot establish it.
What It’s Worth
Ordinary worn through attractive unworn examples are estimated at $15–$500. The range covers different D and S varieties with different visibility and condition.
An ambiguous extra curve does not gain a special premium from an impressive attribution. Matchable punch remnants matter more than the proposed name.
13. 1940 Nickel Repeated Letters or Wavy Proof Steps: Doubled Dies and Reverse of 1938 Error
A doubled die contains repeated detail in the tool itself. The 1940 reports include Philadelphia ordinary and Proof varieties, along with Denver and San Francisco inscriptions showing repeated outlines.
One Proof reverse combines slight E PLURIBUS UNUM doubling with the older wavy-step design of 1938. That scarce reverse design is a separate feature from the letter doubling.
How to Identify
Establish whether the coin is an ordinary strike or a specially prepared collector Proof. Polishing can make an ordinary nickel shiny without making it a Proof.
On a Proof candidate, compare the old wavy Monticello steps with the later straighter form, then inspect the motto separately. Keep an already certified coin in its holder.
Other varieties require their own matches in Brian’s 1940 variety catalog. Repeated FIVE CENTS outlines on a Denver coin do not establish the rare Proof reverse.
What It’s Worth
Modest ordinary doubled dies are estimated at $15–$300, and ordinary-design Proof varieties at $100–$750. The scarce Proof Reverse of 1938 has a separate estimated $1,000–$30,000 range.
PCGS records a PR68 example at $28,750 in January 2011. Its rare reverse and exceptional Proof preservation explain the comparison, rather than slight doubling alone.
Conclusion
The most expensive 1940 comparison depends on identifying a rare Proof reverse, while many genuine mint errors occupy much more modest ranges. Start by recording the outline, metal, finish, and visible design before choosing a category.
Photograph fragile flakes and unusual edges without altering them. Keep the four-coin lot total and the San Francisco minimum bid distinct from completed single-coin sales when deciding which evidence applies to your nickel.
