War Nickels
War Nickels History
War Nickels tell an important history of America during the great World War II efforts. This was a time when global communities were working together for a unified effort. Shared hardship was common, and for a war this big-- the metal, nickel, was in great demand.
For the US Mint, this became a problem. For the first time in history, a nickel was minted with .350 or 35 percent silver metal content. Beginning in 1942 Jefferson Nickels were the first and only silver nickels in history. They are easily identified by the date, and by the large Mint mark that is placed over the dome of Monticello on its reverse. The regular nickel and copper-nickel coins do not have this.
The first of the Jefferson Nickels were minted in 1938. As was the tradition of the time, they were meant to commemorate and honor the presidency and accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson, third president from 1801-1809. His accomplishments were significant and a great desire to commemorate this was present in the American public. From the drafting of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, to the securing of the Louisiana Purchase, he also commissioned the Lewis and Clark expeditions that led to the unfortunate losses of the Indian Wars and the subsequent settlement of the West. This led to the development of the powerful new transportation option, the railways that still cross the continent today.
As was the tradition of the times, the US Mint Department hosted a national contest to flush the best design options from the prominent artists and sculptors working in the nation during that day. One thousand dollars was the big prize. It was won by Felix Schlag whose coin design depicted Jefferson's bust from a model made in 1789 by French Sculptor Jean-Antoin Houdon. A major artist of that era, history shows us that a number of presidential coin images were taken from his original bust sculpting work. Photographs were not as common and high quality images were needed to reflect precise likenesses of these great men onto the new American coinage.
The reverse of the coin depicts Jefferson's home at Monticello, Virginia. This was the image from 1938 through 2003, when the reverse received new designs in order to commemorate bicentennials of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. These are named the "Westward Journey" nickel series and were minted from 2004-2005. In 2006, the design for the reverse was returned to the Monticello series designs, while a new design of Jefferson facing forward was placed on the obverse.
Before the nickel was brought into currency, five-cent pieces were tiny silver coins called half-dimes. Contrary to the metal needs of World War II, during and after the American Civil War, it was silver that was in high demand. The copper-nickel alloy developed during the design and introduction of the original "Indian Head" and "Flying Eagle" nickel are still found today. The extreme hardness of this alloy caused many problems for the coinage stamping equipment. The die stamp often sustained damage; a problem solved by technology, and today has been completely resolved.
American currency has long kept coinage values within its metal content. The nickel held its value at one cent per gram, even when 35 percent silver was used to create the nickels during World War II. This five cent coin was designed to weigh five metric grams beginning in 1866, shortly before the July 28th Act of 1866 which declared the metric system legal for use in the United States.
The term "nickel" used to describe a coin actually began with the "Indian Head" coin, as this was a one-cent piece released in 1859 and circulated until 1969, the first that was made from a copper-nickel alloy. During the Civil War, they were interchangeably called "nickels," or "nicks." In 1865 a three-cent nickel came into the currency. To the folks on the street, these were the "new nickels." In 1866, the "Shield Nickel" came into the currency released under a brand new technology market that caused the spotlight that forever changed the way Americans associated the coins and nickel alloy with a particular denomination of value. It was due to the arrival of the public phone in 1888. Local public phone booth calls cost a nickel across the United States. In 1950 this charge was raised to a dime, except in some places such as New Orleans and in most of the largely rural areas. These phone booths only charged a nickel until the mid 1970's.
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