In commemoration of the bicentennials of the Louisiana Purchase
and the Lewis and Clark expedition, the President enacted Public
Law 108-15 to modify the Jefferson 5-cent coin (nickel) to reflect
images evocative of the historic expedition into the Louisiana
Territory. The United States Mint began the Westward Journey Nickel
Series™ in 2004 with the release of the Peace Medal and Keelboat
nickels. In 2005, a contemporary image of President Jefferson will
appear on the nickel, along with two new reverse designs that
recognize the American Indians and wildlife encountered by the Lewis
and Clark expedition and the progress and culmination of the journey.
Depictions of Monticello and Thomas Jefferson will return to the
nickel in 2006.
The obverse design for the 2005 nickels will bear, for the
first time in 67 years, a new likeness of America’s third
president, Thomas Jefferson. The “Liberty” inscription on
the coin is based upon Jefferson’s own handwriting. The design
is based on the marble bust of Jefferson by the French sculptor
Jean-Antoine Houdon, completed in 1789. The design was made
age-appropriate to his presidency by utilizing later paintings
by Gilbert Stuart and Rembrandt Peale.
The design was created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion
Program artist, Joe Fitzgerald, of Silver Spring, Maryland.
United States Mint sculptor-engraver Don Everhart sculpted
the design.
The first of two new reverses on the 2005-dated nickel will
feature the American bison, recognizing the American Indians
and wildlife encountered by the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Expedition journals described the buffalo, and it was an
animal of great significance to many American Indian cultures.
The design was created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion
Program artist, Jamie Franki, of Concord, North Carolina. United
States Mint sculptor-engraver Norman E. Nemeth sculpted the design.
In late 2005, the nickel will feature a scene of the Pacific
Ocean and an inscription reflecting an excited entry in the
journal of Captain William Clark on November 7, 1805. The
design visually depicts the expedition’s exultation on
believing they had finally reached the Pacific Ocean after
so many months of arduous travel.
The design was created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion
Program artist, Joe Fitzgerald, of Silver Spring, Maryland,
and was sculpted by United States Mint sculptor/engraver
Donna Weaver.
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