Are silver Nickels a 'first' in US coinage history?
Are silver Nickels truly a milestone in the history of US coinage? As far as I understand, Nickels were originally made of a combination of copper and nickel, but at some point, they began to be minted with silver. Does this make them the first instance of a non-traditional metal being used in US coinage? Or were there other coins before this that used different metals? I'm curious to know if silver Nickels hold a special place in the annals of American coinage and if they truly represent a significant shift in the way coins were made.