Are nickels made before 1965 made of silver?

Except during WWII, all US nickels have been made from an alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper.

It's a common misconception that pre-1965 nickels were made of 90% silver just like dimes, quarters, and half dollars. If you think about it for a few seconds, though, nickels are twice as big as dimes so a nickel made of 90% silver would have actually been worth 20 cents!

From late 1942 through 1945, special "war nickels" were made from an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese because nickel metal was needed for the war effort. They can be identified by a large mint mark letter over the dome of Monticello on the back.