3rd President

United States of America

(1801 - 1809)

Thomas Jefferson was the first American Secretary of State, the Third President of the U.S.A. and one of the masterminds behind the United States monetary system. It was on Thomas Jefferson’s recommendation that the Dollar was used as America’s standard unit of money. Furthermore, Jefferson suggested the Dollar denomination should be decimalized, essentially creating Cents, Dimes, Quarters, and Half Dollars.

First struck in 1938, the Jefferson Nickel was designed by Felix Schlag to honor our Third President. The Jefferson Nickel is still produced to this day, however, its design has changed numerous times over the years. Schlag’s design was struck until 2004, when his reverse design was replaced with numerous depictions to celebrate President Jefferson’s acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase and its impact on Westward Expansion. Beginning in 2006, Schlag’s reverse returned to the Nickle, but the obverse changed to a portrait of Thomas Jefferson designed by Jamie Franki.