The Mint used Schlag's obverse in 2004

The Mint used Schlag's obverse in 2004, with two new reverse designs.^[98] Mint sculptor-engraver Norman E. Nemeth's adaptation of an Indian Peace Medal struck for Jefferson was the first new design, Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M Battery followed by a depiction by Mint sculptor-engraver Al Maletsky of a keelboat like that used by the Expedition.^[99] The 2005 obverse was struck during that year only, with a design by sculptor Joe Fitzgerald based on Houdon's bust of Jefferson.^[100] The legend "LIBERTY" on the obverse was traced from Jefferson's handwriting in drafting the Declaration of Independence; Sony VAIO PCG-7171M Battery as the word is never capitalized in that document, Fitzgerald borrowed a capital L from Jefferson's other writings.^[101] The reverse for the first half of the year depicted an American bison, recalling the Buffalo nickel and designed by Jamie Franki. The reverse for the second half showed a coastline and the words "Ocean in view! O! The Joy!", Sony VAIO PCG-7186M Battery from a journal entry by William Clark, co-leader of the Expedition.^[100] Clark had actually written the word as "ocian", but the Mint modernized the spelling.^[101] Another Franki design has, since 2006, been used for the obverse, depicting a view of Jefferson from the front (rather than in profile)^[102] based on a 1800 study by Rembrandt Peale, Sony VAIO PCG-81112M Battery and includes "Liberty" in Jefferson's script. According to Acting Mint Director David Lebryk, "The image of a forward-facing Jefferson is a fitting tribute to [his] vision."^[103] The reverse beginning in 2006 was again Schlag's Monticello design, but newly sharpened by Mint engravers.^[104] Sony VAIO PCG-31111M Battery As Schlag's obverse design, on which his initials were placed in 1966, is no longer used, his initials were placed on the reverse to the right of Monticello. In the first decade of the 21st century, commodity prices for copper and nickel, which make up the five-cent coin, rose dramatically, pushing the cost of manufacturing a nickel from 3.46 cents in fiscal year 2003 to 10.09 cents in fiscal year 2012.^[106] Sony VAIO PCG-31311M Battery In an attempt to avoid losing large quantities of circulating nickels to melting, the United States Mint introduced new interim rules on December 14, 2006, that criminalized the melting and export of pennies (which as of 2011 cost 2.41 cents to produce) and nickels. Violators of these rules can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000, five years imprisonment, or both. The rules were finalized on April 17, 2007.^[ Sony VAIO PCG-8152M Battery The melt value of a nickel for some time was more than five cents, including nearing double its face value in May 2007. Since then, the supply and demand of the coin's composition metals have stabilized. A nickel's melt value fell below its face value for several weeks between October and November 2012, and more recently again on February 28, 2013.^[109] Sony VAIO PCG-61111M Battery Mint Director Henrietta Fore in 2004 asked Congress to fund research into lower-cost alternatives to present coinage metals. Although the initiative lapsed when she left office in 2005, in 2010, Congress passed the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act, directing the Mint to explore alternatives to the present compositions of the six denominations, from cent to dollar. Sony PCG-71213M Battery In 2011, the Mint awarded a contract to study the issue to Concurrent Technologies Corporation of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.^[108] The report in response to the legislation requested additional time to study the issue, ensuring the continuation, for the present, of the existing coinage metals.^[110] Sony PCG-71311M Battery The Mint expects demand for nickels in commerce to increase from 840 million needed in Fiscal Year 2011 to 1.08 billion in 2015. The Liberty Head nickel, sometimes referred to as the V nickel because of its reverse (or tails) design, was an American five-cent piece. Sony PCG-71312M Battery It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912, with at least five pieces being surreptitiously struck dated 1913. The original copper–nickel five-cent piece, the Shield nickel, had longstanding production problems, and in the early 1880s, the United States Mint was looking to replace it. Sony PCG-71212M Battery Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber was instructed to prepare designs for proposed one-, three-, and five-cent pieces, which were to bear similar designs. Only the new five-cent piece was approved, and went into production in 1883. For almost thirty years large quantities of coin of this design were produced to meet commercial demand, especially as coin-operated machines became increasingly popular. Sony PCG-71811M Battery Beginning in 1911, the Mint began work to replace the Liberty head design, and a new design, which became known as theBuffalo nickel, went into production in February 1913. Although no 1913 Liberty head nickels were officially struck, five are known to exist. While it is uncertain how these pieces originated, they have come to be among the most expensive coins in the world, with one selling in 2010 for $3,737,500. Sony PCG-71911M Battery Industrialist Joseph Wharton, who had interests in nickel mining and production, had been influential in the decision to use the metal in coinage in the mid-1860s, leading to the introduction of the Shield nickel in 1866.^[1] The Shield nickel presented difficulties through its life: the intricate design made the coins not strike well. Sony PCG-91211M Battery Modification to the design failed to solve the technical problems, and the mint had considered replacing the design as early as 1867. Nevertheless, the Shield nickel remained in production.^[2] With production of copper–nickel five-cent pieces lagging in the late 1870s, and with production of the copper-nickel three-cent piece nearly moribund, Sony PCG-91111M Battery Wharton sought to increase his sales of nickel to the United States Mint. Although copper-nickel coins were struck only in small numbers, the bronze centrepresented a major portion of the Mint's production, and Wharton began to lobby for the piece to be struck in copper-nickel.^[1] Sony VAIO PCG-5J4M Battery In 1881, this lobbying led Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden to order Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber to produce uniform designs for a new cent, three-cent piece, and five-cent piece.^[1] Snowden informed Barber that the proposed designs were to feature on the obverse (or heads side) a classic head of Liberty with the legend "Liberty" and the date. Sony VAIO PCG-5K1M Battery The reverse (or tails side) was to feature a wreath of wheat, cotton, and corn around a roman numeral designating the denomination of the coin; thus the five-cent piece was to have the roman numeral "V".^[3] The proposal for the cent would decrease its size to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) and its weight to 1.5 grams (0.053 oz), Sony VAIO PCG-5K2M Battery and the modifications to the three-cent piece would increase its size to 19 millimetres (0.75 in) and its weight to 3 grams (0.11 oz). The nickel would retain its weight of 5 grams (0.18 oz), but its diameter would be increased to 22 millimetres (0.87 in).^[4] Barber duly produced the required designs. Fairly large numbers of pattern coins were struck.^[4] Sony VAIO PCG-5J5M Battery Barber's design for the nickel showed a portrait similar to that eventually adopted for the obverse, with "United States of America" and the date. The reverse featured the required wreath surrounding the "V", and no other lettering. A modified pattern design later that year added the words "In God We Trust" to the reverse.^[5] Sony VAIO PCG-5L2M Battery Snowden decided that the proposed cents and three-cent pieces would be too small for effective use, but Barber continued work on the nickel, with the size adjusted to 21.21 millimetres (0.835 in).^[3] Barber reworked the design in 1882, adding "E Pluribus Unum"^[a] to the reverse. Sony VAIO PCG-6S4M Battery One variant that was struck as a pattern, but was not adopted, was a coin with five equally-spaced notches in the rim of the coin. This "Blind Man's nickel" was struck at the request of Congressman and former Union General William S. Rosecrans, who stated that many of his wartime colleagues had been blinded by combat or disease.^[6] Sony VAIO PCG-6W1M Battery Late that year, Barber's 1882 design was endorsed by Mint authorities, and 25 specimens were sent to Washington for routine approval by Treasury SecretaryCharles J. Folger. To Snowden's surprise, Folger rejected the design. The secretary, on review of the coinage statutes, Sony VAIO PCG-6W2M Battery had realized that the laws required "United States of America" to appear on the reverse, not the obverse. Folger had then consulted with President Chester Arthur, who confirmed Folger's opinion. Snowden suggested that an exception should be made, but Folger refused, and Barber modified his design accordingly. The revised design was approved, and the coin was ready for striking in early 1883. Sony VAIO PCG-7Z1M Battery Striking of the new coins began on January 30, 1883, and the Mint placed the first pieces in circulation on February 1.^[8] Snowden, concerned about reports of speculation in 1883 Shield nickels, received permission on February 6 to continue striking Shield nickels for several months alongside the new pieces.^[9] Sony VAIO PCG-8Y2M Battery It had not been thought necessary to inscribe the word "cents" on the nickel; the silver and copper-nickel three-cent pieces had circulated for years with only a Roman numeral to indicate the denomination.^[10] Enterprising fraudsters soon realized that the new nickel was close in diameter to that of the five-dollar gold piece, and if the new coin was gold-plated, Sony VAIO PCG-8Y3M Battery it might be passed for five dollars. They soon did so, and had success in passing the coin.^[11] Some coins were given a reeded edge by the fraudsters, to make them appear more like the gold coins.^[12] A widespread tale is that one of the perpetrators of this fraud was a man named Josh Tatum, who would go into a store, select an item costing five cents or less, Sony VAIO PCG-8Z1M Battery and offer the gold-plated piece in payment—and many clerks gave him $4.95 in change. According to the tale, the law had no recourse against Tatum, as he had tendered the value of his purchase and had merely accepted the change as a gift.^[11] By some accounts, Tatum could not have misrepresented the value of the coin as he was a deaf-mute.^[2] Sony VAIO PCG-8Z2M Battery