Jefferson Nickel Series Guide: Key Dates & What’s It Worth?

The Jefferson nickel (1938–date) is the longest-running U.S. design — and its two famous keys, the 1939-D and 1950-D, each cost hundreds in top grades. This guide covers the keys, the silver war nickels, and the Full Steps premium.

Series history

Felix Schlag’s design — Jefferson on the obverse, Monticello on the reverse — replaced the Buffalo nickel in 1938 and has remained the five-cent design ever since, making it the longest-running U.S. coin design (The Spruce Crafts).
The standard alloy is 75% copper and 25% nickel at 5 g, the same planchet as the Buffalo nickel before it (Numista).
From late 1942 through 1945, nickel was needed for the war effort, so the alloy switched to 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese — the “war nickels,” marked by a large mint mark over Monticello, including the first prominent P for Philadelphia (The Spruce Crafts).
The Westward Journey series of 2004–2005 temporarily replaced the Monticello reverse with Louisiana Purchase and Lewis & Clark scenes, before a new portrait of Jefferson and a return to Monticello arrived in 2006 (Numismatic News; USA Coin Book).
That 2006 redesign — a forward-facing Jefferson portrait with the classic Monticello reverse restored — remains the current design (USA Coin Book).

Key dates

1939-D Jefferson Nickel — the series’ scarcest regular issue with 3,514,000 struck; the affordable key of the early series (The Spruce Crafts; PCGS).
1950-D Jefferson Nickel — 2,630,030 struck, the lowest mintage in the series, but heavily hoarded at release — circulated examples are cheap while certified Mint State pieces carry the premium (PCGS).
1955-D/S Nickel — a D/S over-mintmark variety that adds a cherry-pick to the mid-1950s run.
War nickels — every 1942–1945 silver issue is worth over face value for its 35% silver content; see our silver war nickels guide for the full breakdown.
Scarce dates in high grade: 1942-D, 1943/2-P, and the 1940s–1950s issues become scarce with Full Steps in Mint State (Numismatic News).

What drives the premium

Key-date mintage: the 1939-D (3,514,000) and 1950-D (2,630,030) lead every Jefferson set — but hoarding means the 1950-D’s low mintage shows up in price only at high grades (PCGS).
Full Steps (FS): the steps of Monticello must be fully struck and unbroken — FS designation on early dates can multiply value many times over (Numismatic News).
Silver content: the 1942–1945 war issues contain 35% silver and trade above face value on metal alone (The Spruce Crafts).
Strike quality: weakly struck steps are the norm on 1950s–1960s issues, so fully struck gems are the condition rarities of the series (Numismatic News).

Specifications

Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel (1942–1945 war issues: 56% copper, 35% silver, 9% manganese) (Numista; The Spruce Crafts)
Weight: 5 g (Numista)
Diameter: 21.2 mm (Numista)
Edge: plain (Numista)
Designer: Felix Schlag (The Spruce Crafts)
Years: 1938–date (The Spruce Crafts)
Mint marks: P, D, S — historically on the reverse; large P/D/S over Monticello for 1942–1945 war nickels (The Spruce Crafts)

Collector notes

Proofs are a separate specialty for most dates in the series.
Pre-1960 Jefferson nickels in high grade with Full Steps are the scarcer dates of the series (Numismatic News).
The 2004–2005 Westward Journey nickels are common in circulation but complete the design-type run (USA Coin Book).
Always check the reverse of 1942 nickels: only the large-mintmark pieces are the 35% silver war issues (The Spruce Crafts).
War nickels’ oversized mint marks make them the easiest silver coins to spot — including the first prominent P mint mark ever used on a U.S. coin (The Spruce Crafts).