Retracing the route of the Jefferson Nickel
BY ED REITER
The Jefferson nickel is old hat to Americans. Most people under the age of 40 have never carried any other five-cent piece in their pockets or purses, and few ever pause to examine one before spending it.
That will change in the weeks and months ahead, for the U.S. Mint is giving the coin a makeover.
2004 Nickel Designs commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark expedition
Nickels dated 2004 will come in two new varieties, each bearing a special design tied to the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition.
The change is way overdue, for the Jefferson nickel has carried the same designs on both sides since 1938 – longer than any other current U.S. coin. The Lincoln cent and Washington quarter are older, but both have undergone major revision along the way – the cent with the Lincoln Memorial reverse and the quarter with the 50-state reverses. The Jefferson nickel, by contrast, looks basically the same now as it did when it first appeared more than 65 years ago.
It's hard to imagine today, but at one time the Jefferson nickel was considered quite dramatic. It was, in fact, part of what amounted to a coinage revolution – one that changed the face of Americans' pocket change from allegorical themes to portraits of national leaders. That artistic revolution was already under way with the cent and quarter, but the nickel tilted the balance and all but assured that the change would become complete.
Plans for a Jefferson nickel were hatched in 1937 by aides to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR and fellow-Democrats looked upon Thomas Jefferson as the founder of their party, and saw this as a chance to burnish his image and that of the party as well. It seemed logical, too, as a follow-up to the presidential portraits on the cent and quarter, both of which enjoyed wide popularity.
Under federal law, coin designs couldn't be changed until at least 25 years had elapsed since their introduction. Congressional approval was needed prior to that. Of the three remaining regular-issue coins (other than the cent and quarter), only the Buffalo nickel satisfied this requirement – and then just barely. Having made its debut in 1913, it was eligible for replacement in 1938. The "Mercury" dime and Walking Liberty half dollar both were introduced in 1916 and thus hadn't reached the minimum retirement age.
The Buffalo nickel was – and still is – an enormously popular coin, viewed with affection by millions of Americans for its naturalistic beauty and its simple yet powerful themes. From a technical standpoint, though, the coin had been a headache for the government right from the very beginning. Certain parts of the coin – notably the date – were high and exposed to wear, and by the 1930s dateless Buffalo nickels were becoming a real concern for the U.S. Mint.
All five coins being issued at that time were the work of outside artists, rather than members of the Mint's engraving staff, and three of them were products of design competitions. The U.S. Treasury decided to look outside again by holding a public contest "open to all American sculptors." The winner would receive $1,000 – not a princely sum even then, but enough to get artists' attention at a time when the effects of the Depression were still being keenly felt.
The contest's ground rules specified that the new coin should bear "an authentic portrait" of Jefferson on the obverse and "a representation of Monticello," his famous Virginia home, on the reverse. They also spelled out the inscriptions that must appear – including IN GOD WE TRUST, which was missing on the Buffalo nickel (the last U.S. coin made without this now required motto).
The Treasury named four judges: Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross and three distinguished sculptors – Mrs. Sidney Waugh, Albert Stewart and Heinz Warneke.
By the deadline of April 15, 1938, the Treasury had received 390 entries. Of these, the judges chose the best 50, then winnowed the list to only 10 before finally settling upon an entry from Felix Schlag, a Chicago sculptor born in Germany who had come to the United States only nine years earlier.
Even though it was the judges' choice, Schlag's design still had to run a gantlet of further critics, including the federal Commission of Fine Arts. During this review process, several modifications were recommended, and Schlag was asked to revise his models in ways both subtle and substantial.
The most important change involved the artist's depiction of Monticello. He originally showed a graceful side view, with a modernistic tree in the foreground – a rendition that has since won praise from many who have seen it. At the insistence of the Fine Arts Commission, he substituted the straight-on frontal view that ended up appearing on the coin – one which cynics have likened to a mausoleum. He also softened Jefferson's jutting jaw and made the lettering more traditional.
Unlike many artists who have fashioned U.S. coins, Schlag did not receive credit for his design on the coin itself. His initials weren't added until 1966, but they have appeared regularly since then below Jefferson's bust.
Production of 1938 Jefferson nickels didn't begin until October, and the first examples weren't issued until Nov. 15 – seven months after the close of the design competition. In the meantime, to meet a modest demand for five-cent pieces, the Denver Mint had struck 7.2 million Buffalo nickels – the only ones made in that series' final year. Partly because of the late start, output of Jefferson nickels was modest in 1938, particularly at the Denver and San Francisco branch mints. The coins are quite affordable, however, even in mint condition, because so many were set aside at the time.
There has been speculation that the Mint might use Schlag's side view of Monticello as part of the redesign now under way on the nickel. There is a recent precedent for pulling a spurned design off the shelf: In 1999, a commemorative $5 gold piece, issued to mark the 200th anniversary of George Washington's death, carried a design by Laura Gardin Fraser intended for the Washington quarter in 1932 but rejected by the Treasury at that time.
Monticello won't appear at all on nickels dated 2004. In its place, the Mint plans to use two designs linked to the "Corps of Discovery" headed by explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. One will be an adaptation of the "handshake" design found on Indian peace medals given by Lewis and Clark to important Indian chiefs. The other will be a representation of the keelboat used by the expedition on part of its journey of discovery.
By law, however, Monticello must return by 2006. And with luck, it will be Felix Schlag's original version.
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