jefferson nickels

The Jefferson Nickel is a long running coin series featuring the 3rd President of the United States and one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence. The series was launched in 1938 and has been minted for all subsequent years to date. There are no significantly low mintages for the duration of the series, making it relatively approachable for the average collector.

Felix O. Schlag was the designer of the original Jefferson Nickel. His design featured a left facing portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the obverse with an image of his home at Monticello on the reverse. This design was used continuously from 1938 to 2003. During the following three years design changes were make to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark expedition. At the conclusion of the series a new obverse design by Joe Fitzgerald was adopted and used for subsequent years.