Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s famous Virginia home, is seen on the reverse of the Jefferson Nickel. Courtesy of Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez.
The Jeffersons Turn 85 By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez
The Jefferson Nickel series launched in 1938 and turns 85 years old in 2023. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. No, we’re not talking about the popular 1970s sitcom The Jeffersons, one of many spinoff television hits from Norman Lear’s CBS series All in the Family. We are about to review the major anniversary of another kind of series – one that hasn’t necessarily produced as many laughs but certainly has a fan base all its own. The Jefferson Nickel has been celebrating a major milestone in 2023… Even with the realization that the Liberty and Buffalo Nickels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries exist, it seems like the Jefferson Nickel has been around nearly forever. Nearly is the operative adverb, for it was 85 years ago that the Jefferson Nickel debuted. P CG S MARKE T RE PORT
It would be easy for the Jefferson Nickel to feel somewhat underappreciated – had the coin any feelings to express, of course. And this would be understandable because the series is frequently overshadowed by contemporary counterparts with far more stage time, including the Lincoln Cent and Washington Quarter. Perhaps Jefferson Nickels find consolation in knowing they aren’t alone on quieter sidelines (hello, Roosevelt Dime), but, like the modern ten-cent series with a surprising number of headline-worthy highlights, the Jeffersons offer a dynamic collector experience for those who embark on collecting them. For starters, the Jefferson Nickel holds the distinction of being the only series of its longevity whose regular-strike issues can all still be found in circulation, given one spends the necessary amount of time (and is blessed with enough luck) ardently searching through rolls. Even the 35% silver wartime issues from 1942 through 1945 can still be found on occasion in circulation; this is perhaps because relatively few people in the general public know that these coins contain silver and thus don’t pull them from their pocket change when they appear there. To be sure, ordinary circulation finds of heavily worn Jefferson Nickels from the late 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s may NOV E MB E R - D E CE M BE R 2023 7