1866-1883 Shield Nickel. Made of Nickel.
1883-1913 Liberty Head Nickel. Made of Nickel. Has an interesting history because this coins was used as a starting point to counterfeit five dollar gold pieces. The size and design was so similar to the five dollar gold piece that people would gold plate this and try to pass it off as a gold piece. Because of this counterfeiting, the word cents was added to the side with the letter "V" beginning in 1884. Was commonly called the "V" Nickel.
1913-1938 Indian Head Nickel. Made of Nickel. Indian Head on one side and Buffalo on the other. Commonly known as a "Buffalo Nickel".
1938-Present Jefferson Nickel. Made of Nickel. SPECIAL ISSUE during World War II (1942-1945) used a Silver Alloy because nickel was a critical war material. This nickel was commonly referred to as a "War Nickel" . War Nickels can be easily identified by the Large Letter "P" that appears above the Jefferson Memorial.