2000 Jefferson Five Cents 1965 to Date MS61

History

The Jefferson nickel entered production in 1938, replacing the Buffalo type once its 25-year statutory design term had run. Felix Schlag, a German-born sculptor, won the Mint's open design competition, though his original reverse showing Monticello at a three-quarter angle was reworked into the straight-on frontal view used for regular coinage. Two later adjustments define how a 2000-dated piece looks: Schlag's FS initials were placed below the bust beginning in 1966, and from 1968 through 2004 the mint mark appeared on the obverse beside the date rather than on the reverse. By 2000 the series was a routine high-volume workhorse, struck to circulation demand at Denver.

Details

Felix Schlag designed both the obverse and reverse, the only coin design he produced for the United States. The 2000-D is struck in 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel, weighs 5.00 grams, measures about 21.2 mm across and has a plain edge. Denver reported a mintage of 1,509,520,000 pieces, among the larger Denver nickel outputs of the period.

Features

The obverse carries Schlag's left-facing Jefferson portrait with IN GOD WE TRUST along the left periphery and LIBERTY, a star, and the date 2000 at the right, with the FS initials below the bust and the D mint mark set below and clockwise of the date. Monticello occupies the center of the reverse in frontal view, MONTICELLO beneath the building, E PLURIBUS UNUM above it, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the upper rim and FIVE CENTS at the base. Strike quality on the portico steps governs value here: PCGS and NGC both certify a separate Full Steps designation when the steps are clear and complete, and NGC-graded examples of this date appear with the 6FS notation. The difference between a five-cent coin and a three-figure coin on this issue comes down to those steps.

Notable facts

• The PCGS auction record for a Full Steps example is $1,898, realized for an MS67 in July 2004.
• A higher $4,050 result recorded in December 2021 was for a coin in a PCGS Genuine holder rather than a numerically graded piece, so it does not represent a normal circulation strike.
• At the time of one auction listing, PCGS had graded 12 examples at MS67 Full Steps and NGC three, with none finer at either service.
• Certified mint errors from this date include a double denomination struck over an already-struck 2000-D cent, a strike on a 3.4-gram foreign planchet, an obverse struck through a capped die, and a double strike with the second impression 80 percent off center.
• The copper-nickel content of a 2000-D nickel is worth more than five cents at many metal price levels, but a 2006 Treasury rule prohibits melting five-cent pieces.