Illinois War Nickel Value Guide
War Nickel is a realistic Illinois detector target tied to fairgrounds, schoolyards, and plowed farmsteads. Rather than pretending every state has the same history, this profile frames the signal around the kinds of sites that actually produce it in Illinois: beaches, town greens, camps, farmsteads, transport corridors, or old recreation grounds.
Value Range
$1-60+ depending on date and silver content
Cleaning Tips
- ●rinse lightly
- ●check large mintmark above Monticello on reverse
Route stack
Turn Illinois War Nickel into a month, law, metro, and ground plan.
These links move the page out of taxonomy mode and back into trip planning, so users can answer when to go, where to start, and what legal layer to check before they leave the main species or find guide.
Timing layer
Monthly state routes
Law layer
Illinois state guide
Metal detecting in Illinois is usually governed by who manages the ground rather than by one blanket statute. Municipal beaches and local parks may allow it, while archaeological sites, battlefields, historic structures, and many state park units are restricted or off limits. That matters in fairgrounds, park lawns, and old canal or rail sites.
Open the law layer →Metro layer
City hubs in Illinois
Place layer
Trail and ground routes
Location: Shawnee National Forest
National Forest • Seasonal edible mushrooms, Common invertebrate fossils in float
Location: Giant City State Park
State Park • Photo opportunities, Exposed shoreline stones
Location: Ferne Clyffe State Park
State Park • Photo opportunities, Exposed shoreline stones
Location: Starved Rock State Park
State Park • Photo opportunities, Exposed shoreline stones
Take TroveRadar into the field
Carry the plan, the species notes, and the access checks outside.
Use the mobile app for offline reference, private find logging, route memory, and the working notes that matter after the browser window closes.