![]() These notes had the word HAWAII printed on them in large letters and could not be taken off the island. In answer to the threat, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced special paper money for use in Hawaii. ![]() ![]() Some paper money, though, was changed for war reasons.Īfter Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States became concerned that the enemy might occupy the islands. The large letter was meant to allow for easy identification so the silver could be retrieved after the war.Īll other coins remained unchanged throughout the war. War nickels, produced from mid-1942 through 1945, were composed of 35 percent silver and had a large Mint mark on the reverse above Monticello. The shellcase coins are a lighter color than earlier and later pieces because the alloy lacked the trace of zinc used in other copper cents. Then the artillery shells were recycled at the Mint from 1944 through 1946 and used to make cent planchets. They were instantly recognizable in change and were prized by children as lucky coins for decades after. In 1943, the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco produced some 500 million white steel cents. The result was zinc-plated steel cents and silver nickels. After a decade of low-production because of the Great Depression, sudden wartime prosperity dramatically increased the demand for coins.Ĭompeting, though, for the nation’s copper and nickel was the wartime need for artillery shells and armor plate. We continue a five-part look at the way war has shaped America’s coinage. In the depths of World War II, metals used for America’s coinage reflected the exigencies of battle and wartime prosperity at home, as the Mint tried new metals to replace those needed for weaponry abroad.
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