We report on measurements of the specific heat C of nanocrystalline Cu and colloidal Au and Ag with an average crystallite size between 4 and 18 nm at temperatures T between 0. 06 K and 10 K and in magnetic fields B up to 6 T. Above T ≈ 1 K the specific heat is field independent and strongly enhanced above the bulk specific heat. This enhancement of C can be attributed to Einstein oscillators arising from weakly bound surface atoms. Below 1 K C is enhanced, too, but with a strong magnetic field dependence which can be described by the specific heat CSch of a Schottky anomaly. With increasing magnetic f eld the maximum of C Sch is shifted to higher T. From the magnitude of the additional specific heat we infer the number of excitations that contribute to C Sch. A possible origin of these excitations might be an odd number of electrons in the small isolated particle as well as free radicals or magnetic impurities in the colloids.