In 1938 things started to pop! The Treasury Dept. decided to replace the Buffalo design on the nickel with a design that they hoped would be trendier than the ones before. A nationwide competition was announced. They wanted the design to portray the 3^rd President Thomas Jefferson on the Obverse and the reverse his home Monticello.

Among the artists and sculptors that entered the contest was Felix Schlag.  His original design was modified by the mint and in September of the year 1938 the minting of the new coin started!  Coin collecting was still popular as it had been for a few years but it doesn’t seem that there was much interest paid to these new coins.

In 1942 the USA went into WW2 and nickel started to be a metal that was needed more and more for the war. Silver was readily available and so from 1942 to 1945 the nickels were no longer nickel but had a 35% silver alloy.

Then again in 2004 the design was given a makeover. There were two “commemorative”   designs minted that year, one is referred to as the Peace Medal Rev, and the other is called Keelboat Rev. The next change would be a major overhaul of both sides in 2005. While the Rev design just got modified to proved a sharper strike the Obv, shows a totally new look to Jefferson.

While today a sharp strike is not a big problem years ago it was. The biggest problem was the 6 steps on Monticello. Today coins with a nice strike and where all 6 steps are fully struck are sought after by many collectors. Grading companies have dubbed the coins with that full strike as “FS”(Full Steps).  The War Nickels (1942-1945) have a much better alloy for striking and many times show much better detail in this area of the steps. In 2005 the design of the steps was strengthen even more.

So with this brief overview I leave you to explore the wonders of the Jefferson Nickels! There are many varieties, and many interesting types of this coin. I hope this site is a help to you in your hunt for varieties!