In 1938, the Mint expanded the theme of honoring heroes from American history on
circulating coinage by sponsoring an open competition for a new Jefferson
Nickel. Earlier honorees were Abraham Lincoln (One cent, 1909) and George
Washington (Quarter dollar, 1932).
The main guidelines of the competition were that the obverse must contain an
“authentic portrait” of Thomas Jefferson and the reverse was to feature a
rendition of Jefferson’s beloved home, Monticello.
Of the 390 models received, the winning entry was submitted by Felix Schlag, a
German immigrant who came to the U.S. nine years earlier. Schlag was awarded a
prize of $1000.
Schlag based his image of Jefferson on the
1789 marble bust crafted by the
renowned French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, considered by many to be the most
superb likeness of Jefferson ever produced. Schlag’s three-quarter view of Monticello
was rejected by the Commission of Fine Arts, preferring instead a frontal
perspective of the building. Schlag implemented these and other revisions, and
by November 1938, the Jefferson Nickel entered circulation.
|
 |
 |
|
Jefferson Nickel Specifications |
Diameter: |
Weight: |
Minted: |
Composition: |
Designer |
Edge: |
21.20 mm |
5.00
g |
1938-1942 |
.250
Ni .750 Cu |
Felix Schlag |
Plain |
21.20 mm |
5.00
g |
1942-1945 |
.350
Au .090 Mn .560 Cu |
Felix Schlag |
Plain |
21.20 mm |
5.00
g |
1946-present |
.250
Ni .750 Cu |
Felix Schlag |
Plain |
|
Coin Photos courtesy of
Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. |
The challenges of World War II necessitated a change in the metallic
composition of the five cent coin. Nickel was an essential element for armored
plating, so Congress required its removal from the coin by October 8, 1942. For
the remainder of 1942 through the end of 1945, wartime Jefferson Nickels were composed
of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese. War nickels were readily
distinguishable because all three mints in operation at the time, Philadelphia,
Denver, and San Francisco, placed huge mint marks above the dome of Monticello.
An example is shown directly above. This was the first appearance ever for the “P” mintmark. In 1946, the prewar
composition of 75% copper, 25% nickel was resumed and continues to the present
day.
In 1966, the initials “FS” were added to the Jefferson Nickel to properly credit its
designer, Felix Schlag. The recognition might have never occurred were it not
for the movement sprung by the popular periodical, Coin World
. The initials were
placed below the bust of Jefferson.
The appearance of the Jefferson Nickel underwent numerous changes beginning in
March 2004, when the Monticello reverse was replaced by a
depiction of the Peace
Medal carried by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Later in 2004, the reverse was
changed again to show the
famous explorers in their keelboat.
In 2005, Schlag’s depiction of Jefferson was removed in favor of a
close up
profile of the third president. The word LIBERTY was inscribed in Jefferson’s
own handwriting, a reminder that it was he who penned the Declaration of
Independence. Matched with the new obverse were two reverses. The
first featured
an American bison. The
second depicted the Pacific Ocean and William Clark’s
log entry upon reaching the westernmost point in their epic journey: “Ocean in
view! O! The Joy!”
Monticello was returned to the reverse in 2006. The
portrait of Jefferson, based
on the 1800 Rembrandt Peale painting, is shown as a frontal, full face view. It
is the first U.S. circulating coin depicting an historical figure facing
forward.
By all accounts, Thomas Jefferson was a remarkable American, earning accolades
as an architect (Monticello was his brainchild), scientist, and philosopher. It
was his accomplishments as a statesman, however, for which he is best
remembered. He began his life of public service at the age of 26 by joining the
Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769. Following the onset of hostilities with
Great Britain in 1775, Jefferson joined the Second Continental Congress. His
reputation as a gifted writer prompted his selection as the chairman of the
committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson is regarded as the
primary author of the venerable document, approved on July 4, 1776.
Two months later, Jefferson was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. From
1779 to 1781, he served as Virginia governor, overseeing the transfer of the
state capital from Williamsburg to Richmond.
As a member of the Continental Congress in 1784, Jefferson proposed that the
nation’s monetary system be based on the dollar, for it was a unit most
Americans were already familiar with (see
Spanish
Pillar Dollar). Jefferson
devised a simple decimal system, espousing the relative ease of multiplication
and division by factors of ten. The primary points of Jefferson’s plan were
adopted in the
Mint Act of 1792, which created the Mint and marked the
beginning of United States coinage.
After a stint as minister to France, Jefferson returned home to become the
nation’s first Secretary of State in 1789. He soon clashed with Alexander
Hamilton over fiscal policies, a rift that motivated Jefferson to organize the
Democratic-Republican Party (the predecessor of today’s Democratic Party) to
counterbalance the influence of Hamilton’s Federalist Party.
Jefferson first sought the presidency in 1796, but came in second to
John Adams
and thus served as Vice President, as prescribed by the Constitution as
originally framed. Jefferson ran again in 1800, but when votes of the Electoral
College were tallied, Jefferson was tied with Aaron Burr, sending the election
to the House of Representatives to decide the winner. After 35 deadlocked ballots and no
resolution in sight, Jefferson’s longtime nemesis, Hamilton, convinced his
fellow Federalists to support Jefferson because he was "by far not so dangerous
a man" as Burr. On the next ballot, the House gave Jefferson enough votes to become the third President of the United States.
Thomas Jefferson served two terms as president, from 1801 to 1809. Major events
during his tenure included the
Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, and the
war against the Barbary pirates to preserve freedom of the high
seas. Jefferson’s presidency was guided by his philosophy of limited federal
government.
Following his presidential years, Jefferson remained active in numerous walks of
life. In 1812, he struck up a correspondence with another of his onetime political rivals,
John Adams. As the exchange of letters continued, the two men forgot about their
past disputes and became good friends and confidants.
It was during his twilight years that Jefferson scored his proudest
accomplishment – the founding of the University of Virginia, in 1819. He
shared with close friends that the school was the culmination of a dream he had
harbored for many decades.
Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years to the day after the
signing of the Declaration of Independence. His friend and Declaration
co-signer, John Adams, died a few hours later. Ironically, two of the most important
Founding Fathers were forever claimed by the pages of history on the 50th birthday of the nation they
helped establish.
Other than Mint goofs, none of the Jefferson Nickels
are particularly rare. Because of their relatively low mintages, the key dates
of the series are:
Collectors desiring to buy Jefferson Nickels with the potential for significant
future price increases should first look at key date coins in MS-66 or better
condition, especially those with "full steps". Abbreviated as "FS", this refers to the
detail on the steps leading into Monticello. The vast majority of
Jefferson Nickels, up until the late 1980's when the relief was lowered to
improve strike sharpness, lack clear separation of the steps. To qualify
for the "FS" descriptor, at least five steps must be clearly visible.
The "FS" phenomenon is a fairly recent development in numismatics, so there is
sketchy data on value trends, but from all evidence thus far, the supply of full
step nickels is truly limited. Hoping to capitalize on this apparent
scarcity, some sellers have lax standards when assigning the "FS" descriptor to
their Jefferson Nickels for sale. To best protect yourself, it is smart to
buy only certified full step Jefferson Nickels. The most widely respected
certification companies are PCGS, NGC, ICG, and ANACS.
The links below are set up to search eBay for key date Jefferson Nickels in
MS-66 "FS" condition. There is a "Sales Box" for each coin from the key
date list.
The left hand side of each box reports value trends since 2003 for the
indicated key date. The
percent annual increase since then is computed for comparative purposes.
The "View All" link is coded to isolate current eBay
listings for the key date. You will notice not many are described as full
steps, but for those that are, as mentioned above, its a good idea to consider
only certified full step Jefferson Nickels by either PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS.
