Since 1938, President Thomas Jefferson has been featured on the obverse of the nickel. The third United States President was not depicted on previous issues of the nickel. Its reverse depicts Monticello, Jefferson’s Virginia home, of which he was the architect.
Who Sculpted Thomas Jefferson’s Portrait on the Nickel?
There have been two portraits of Thomas Jefferson on the Jefferson nickel.
Jefferson’s Portrait on the Nickel (1938-2004)
The first design was the result of an open competition in January 1938. The contest asked for designs featuring a portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and of his home on the reverse.
On April 20, 1938, Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross and three sculptors reviewed 390 entries. Four days later, Felix Schlag’s design was announced as the winner. Schlag’s portrait bears a striking resemblance to the bust of Jefferson by French neoclassical sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, found in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Schlag’s initials were not included in his original design but were added in 1966.
While many changes were made to the reverse of Schlag’s design, the obverse was primarily untouched until 1987, when Jefferson’s hair was sharpened on the design. In 1993, the hair was once more sharpened. 2004 was the final year for the Schlag design on the obverse of the nickel.
Westward Journey Nickels (2004-2006)
In 2002, officials at the U.S. Mint grew interested in redesigning the nickel to honor the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. Virginia Representative Eric Cantor voiced concerns about making changes to the coin that commemorated Jefferson and his Virginia home. Cator later sponsored the American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act of 2003, which detailed 4 years of changes to the nickel.
The bill allowed the Secretary of the Treasury to approve varied designs commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and Expedition for the nickel. The bill also stipulated that in 2006 and thereafter, the designs were to reinstate Jefferson’s portrait and home.
Jefferson’s Portrait on the Nickel (2006-Date)
From 2006 onward, the Return to Monticello nickel has featured a portrait of Thomas Jefferson designed by Jamie Franki, who had worked on the reverse of one of the 2005 nickels. Franki’s forward-facing portrait of Jefferson was based on a Rembrandt Peale study from 1800.
Since Felix Schlag’s sharpened reverse was still in use, his initials were moved from the obverse and added to the far right of Monticello.
Low Mintages and New Releases
The 2009 mintage for the nickel was unusually low, with fewer than 87 million nickels struck for circulation. The low figures were a result of low interest in coins as a result of the struggling economy of the time. In 2020, the nickel was first struck at the West Point branch of the U.S. Mint.
These nickels did not circulate but were included in the Mints annual set. A 2020-W nickel proof was added to the clad proof set and a 2020-W reverse proof was included in the silver proof set of that year. Plans had been made to add an uncirculated 2020-W nickel for the 2020 uncirculated set, but were abandoned due to issues around the Covid-19 pandemic.
History of the Nickel and Other 5-Cent Pieces
The first 5-cent nickel was released on May 16, 1866, only three months before the official end of the Civil War but after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. The 5-cent nickel was neither the first 5-cent coin nor the first nickel issued by the U.S. Mint.
The Half Dime and Origins of the Nickel
The half dime was issued from 1794 until 1873 and was phased out due to seigniorage, or the cost of producing a coin or currency. Its original spelling was disme, from an Old French word for tithe or tenth part.
The half dime was phased out as a result of seigniorage.
Half dimes were produced under the Coinage Act of 1792, and at the time of its passing, their 1.2 grams of silver content were worth about 5 cents. Silver held a stable value of around $1.29 per ounce until the Civil War and nearly tripled in price by 1880.
The nickel was introduced to alleviate the production costs of a silver coin by replacing it with a copper-nickel coin.
