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Jefferson Nickels

Jefferson Nickels

Felix Schlag designed the original Jefferson nickel, winning a public competition in 1938 that drew 390 entries. Schlag was a German-born sculptor living in Chicago, not a Mint insider, and his selection was part of a broader trend in the 1930s toward opening coin design to outside artists rather than leaving everything to the Chief Engraver's office. His winning entry depicted Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and Monticello, Jefferson's Virginia home, on the reverse. The Mint made Schlag revise his original Monticello rendering, which had shown the building at a three-quarter angle, replacing it with a straight-on frontal view that was less dynamic but more architecturally precise. Schlag was not thrilled with the change. The frontal Monticello is a flat, somewhat lifeless image compared to what he originally proposed, and the coin has carried that compromise ever since. His initials, FS, did not appear on the coin until 1966, nearly three decades after the design entered production, an omission that bothered him for years.

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1938–presentYears struck
91Date/variety entries
Philadelphia, Denver, San FranciscoMints
Circulation Strikes Proofs NIFC / Special
Key date
Semi-key
Variety
Proof
Special
NIFC
Regular
DateVarietyMintageClassificationCK #
1938 19,515 Semi-Key CK-1334
1939 12,535 Semi-Key CK-1340
1939 Reverse of 1940 Variety CK-1345
1939 Reverse of 1938 12,535 Semi-Key CK-1342
1940 14,158 Semi-Key CK-1351
1940 Reverse of 1938 Variety CK-1352
1941 18,720 Semi-Key CK-1356
1942-P Wartime Silver 29,600 Semi-Key CK-1360
1942 29,600 Semi-Key CK-1362
1950 51,386 Semi-Key CK-1392
1951 57,500 Proof CK-1395
1952 81,980 Proof CK-1399
1953 128,800 Proof CK-1403
1954 233,300 Proof CK-1407
1955 378,200 Proof CK-1412
1956 669,384 Proof CK-1416
1957 1,247,952 Proof CK-1419
1958 875,652 Proof CK-1422
1959 1,149,291 Proof CK-1424
1960 1,691,602 Proof CK-1428
1961 3,028,244 Proof CK-1431
1962 3,218,019 Proof CK-1433
1963 3,075,645 Proof CK-1437
1964 3,950,762 Proof CK-1440
1968-S 3,041,506 Proof CK-1451
1969-S 2,934,631 Proof CK-1454
1970-S 2,632,810 Proof CK-1457
1971 No S Proof Key Date CK-1459
1971-S 3,220,733 Proof CK-1461
1972-S 3,260,996 Proof CK-1464
1973-S 2,760,339 Proof CK-1467
1974-S 2,612,568 Proof CK-1470
1975-S 2,845,450 Proof CK-1473
1976-S 4,149,730 Proof CK-1476
1977-S 3,251,152 Proof CK-1479
1978-S 3,127,781 Proof CK-1482
1979-S Type 1 3,677,175 Proof CK-1485
1979-S Type 2 3,677,175 Semi-Key CK-1486
1980-S 3,554,806 Proof CK-1489
1981-S Type 1 4,063,083 Proof CK-1492
1981-S Type 2 4,063,083 Semi-Key CK-1493
1982-S 3,857,479 Proof CK-1496
1983-S 3,279,126 Proof CK-1499
1984-S 3,065,110 Proof CK-1502
1985-S 3,362,821 Proof CK-1505
1986-S 3,010,497 Proof CK-1508
1987-S 4,227,728 Proof CK-1511
1988-S 3,262,948 Proof CK-1514
1989-S 3,220,194 Proof CK-1517
1990-S 3,299,559 Proof CK-1520
1991-S 2,867,787 Proof CK-1523
1992-S 4,176,560 Proof CK-1526
1993-S 3,394,792 Proof CK-1529
1994-S 3,269,923 Proof CK-1533
1995-S 2,797,481 Proof CK-1536
1996-S 2,525,265 Proof CK-1539
1997-S 2,796,678 Proof CK-1543
1998-S 2,086,507 Proof CK-1546
1999-S 3,347,966 Proof CK-1549
2000-S 4,047,993 Proof CK-1552
2001-S 3,184,606 Proof CK-1555
2002-S 3,211,995 Proof CK-1558
2003-S 3,298,439 Proof CK-1561
2004-S Keel Boat 2,965,422 Proof CK-1566
2004-S Peace Medal 2,965,422 Proof CK-1567
2005-S Bison 3,344,679 Proof CK-1577
2005-S Western Waters 3,344,679 Proof CK-1578
2006-S Return to Monticello 3,054,436 Proof CK-1583
2007-S 3,275,000 Proof CK-1588
2008-S 2,169,561 Proof CK-1593
2009-S 2,179,867 Proof CK-1598
2010-S 1,689,216 Proof CK-1603
2011-S 1,673,010 Proof CK-1606
2012-S 1,237,415 Proof CK-1609
2013-S 1,237,524 Proof CK-1612
2014-S 1,243,228 Proof CK-1615
2015-S 1,180,681 Proof CK-1618
2016-S 1,205,075 Proof CK-1621
2017-S 1,249,845 Proof CK-1624
2018-S Reverse Proof 200,000 Semi-Key CK-1628
2018-S 1,200,161 Proof CK-1627
2019-S 1,197,217 Proof CK-1631
2020-S 1,163,710 Proof CK-1634
2020-W 4,928,000 Semi-Key CK-1635
2020-W Reverse Proof 200,000 Semi-Key CK-1636
2021-S 880,396 Proof CK-1639
2022-S 863,886 Proof CK-1642
2023-S 829,526 Proof CK-1645
2024-S 800,000 Proof CK-1648
2025-S 800,000 Proof CK-1651
2026-S Semiquincentennial 1776-2026 Proof CK-1654
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