The Jefferson Nickel

Values

A cupronickel Jefferson nickel’s market depends on the date, the mint mark, and the grade. Melt is a different conversation. Full Steps is a later conversation. This page is a series reference, not a price list. Wartime silver values live on the War nickel page.

The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.

A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.

Key Dates

NGC Coin Explorer is not quoted here as naming a traditional key date on this cupronickel chart. This is a name list, not a price list. Do not invent one.

There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason.

No key-date list is printed here yet.

Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. This is a name list, not a price list.

Errors

These are named varieties. They are not extra invented rows.

Wartime silver 1942–1945. That alloy, including 1942-P silver, 1942-S, 1943–1945, and 1943/2-P, lives on the War nickel page. This page will not duplicate those tables.

1942-P Type 1 cupronickel. That listing is on this chart. It has no large P above Monticello.

1955 D/S. NGC prints that variety. It sits under 1955-D.

1938-P and 1938-S. Those are the Wikipedia Jefferson-only counts. The 1938 pamphlet 5-cent cells still mix Buffalo and Jefferson.

1965–1967. No mint mark. Each year is one combined business-strike total, stored on the Philadelphia row.

2004–2005 Westward Journey. Handshake, Keelboat, Bison, and Ocean View are still cupronickel Jeffersons. 2004-D Handshake is the Wikipedia count. Full Steps is still a designation, not a row.

Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Jefferson page. We do not host their plates.

Varieties

Wartime silver, including 1943/2-P, lives on the War nickel page. These are the cupronickel varieties and the design changes on this page. Full Steps is a strike designation, not a variety.

• 1939 Doubled Die ReverseMonticello is doubled. PCGS and NGC both name it. A regular 1939 is not this die.
• 1942-P Type 1The early 1942 Philadelphia coin is still cupronickel. It has no large P above Monticello. The silver 1942-P is the War nickel page.
• 1955-D/SA D punched over an S. NGC prints that variety under 1955-D.
• 2004 Westward JourneyTwo reverses: the Peace Medal handshake, and the Keelboat. They are still cupronickel Jeffersons.
• 2005 Westward JourneyTwo reverses: the American Bison, and Ocean in View. They are design subtypes, not errors.
• 2006 Return to MonticelloThe obverse changes to a facing portrait, and the reverse returns to Monticello. That is the design from 2006 on, not a die chip.

Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.

Mintage

This chart is cupronickel Jefferson through 2024. Wartime silver years are not rows here. Business strikes NGC left blank are the Wikipedia figures. 2025 stays off. 2026 is only a year-to-date total, so it stays off too.

These are NGC Explorer manufacture figures, retrieved 2026-08-23, not a Red Book net or melt. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. Publisher links sit next to the chart.

Read the date. Read the mint mark beside the building. If the large mark is above the dome, you are on the War nickel page.

Specifications

These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.

This page is 75/25 cupronickel. Wartime silver is a different alloy on the War nickel page. Full Steps is a strike designation. That is not a spec change.

Grading

A cupronickel Jefferson nickel wears first on Jefferson’s cheek and hair, and on the steps of Monticello. Full Steps is a strike call, not a G / VF / MS-63 cell.

This page is the regular 75/25 alloy. Wartime silver 1942–1945 lives on the War nickel page and is not duplicated here.

Key Diagnostic Areas

Circulated & Mint State

These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.

See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set. Guide values on this page came from the NGC Price Guide.

Proof Jefferson nickels exist for much of the run. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one in the 2026-08-23 sheet used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.

Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. Those belong on copper coins. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.

Overview

A Jefferson nickel is a United States five-cent coin struck on Felix Schlag’s design from 1938 on. This page is the regular cupronickel coins. The wartime silver coins are still Jeffersons. They have their own page because the alloy and the large mint mark are a different conversation. People like Jeffersons because they show up in jars. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped coin looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.

This page is a series article, not a shop listing.

History

Buffalo nickels end in 1938. Jefferson starts the same year. In 1942 the Mint changes some five-cent coins to a silver alloy for the war. Those coins, and only those coins, live on the War nickel page. In 1946 the Mint returns to cupronickel. 2004 and 2005 use Westward Journey reverses. The cupronickel alloy does not change. This chart follows the printed business strikes through 2024.

This page will not invent a shop list or a melt story to fill the years between.

Design

Obverse: Jefferson facing left, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and the date. Reverse: Monticello, “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and “FIVE CENTS.” On these cupronickel coins the mint mark, when there is one, sits beside the building. Look at the cheek, the hair, and the steps. Those spots go flat first. Full Steps means the steps on Monticello are fully split. That is a strike call. It is not a G / VF / MS-63 number.

People Also Ask

What years are Jefferson nickels on this page?

Jefferson nickels begin in 1938. This page is the regular cupronickel alloy through 2024. Wartime silver 1942–1945 lives on the War nickel page. Business strikes NGC left blank are Wikipedia figures. 2025 stays off because that split is not the full year.

How much is a Jefferson nickel worth?

It depends on the date, the mint mark, the alloy, and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. Melt is a different conversation. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.

Are War nickels the same as Jefferson nickels?

Yes. They are still Felix Schlag’s Jefferson design. The wartime coins are a silver alloy with a large mint mark above Monticello. That alloy table lives on the War nickel page and is not duplicated here.

What is Full Steps?

Full Steps is a strike designation on Monticello. It is not a G, VF, or MS-63 cell on this chart. Do not copy a Full Steps price onto the business-strike column.

Is there a key date Jefferson nickel?

This page does not invent one. NGC Coin Explorer is the catalog used for this pass, and it is not quoted here as naming a traditional key.

Collector Considerations

Buy the coin, not the story. A common 1960s date in a high grade can cost more than a worn 1939-D someone called “key” from memory.

If you inherited a jar, do not scrub the date. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio.

For the wartime silver coins, read the War nickel page. For the nickel that came before Jefferson, read the Buffalo nickel.

A Final Word

Jefferson nickels reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at the steps. Leave the polish under the sink.

When you want the silver wartime coins, the War nickel page is already here.