2005 American Bison Nickel 

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New in 2005 Westward Journey Nickel Series
Westward Journey Nickel Series™ -- 2005 Designs

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.


2005 Obverse Design: "President Jefferson with Handwritten Liberty"


2005 Nickel Obverse
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.


See the 1938 - 2003 Jefferson Nickel.


2005 Spring Reverse Design: "American Bison"


2005 Nickel Reverse: "American Bison" Spring Reverse 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.

See the 1913 - 1938 Indian Head / Buffalo Nickel.


2005 Summer/Fall Reverse Design: "Ocean in view! O! The joy!"


2005 Nickel Reverse: "Ocean in view! O! The joy!" Summer/Fall Reverse 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.
See the 2004 Designs 

2005 American Bison Nickel Featuring Bold New Jefferson Image Heads into Circulation
United States Mint Hosts National Nickel Exchange

WASHINGTON – Amid the drama of American Indian drumming, singing and dancing, in the presence of the revered American Bison, United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore presented the new 2005 American Bison nickel to the American people in a Capitol Hill ceremony.

“The 2005 American Bison nickel will look significantly different from any nickels you’ve seen,” she told the crowd. “It marks the first time that the image of President Jefferson has ever changed on the nickel, and we have the word “Liberty” in his handwriting.” Looking at Cody, the live Buffalo, she added, “There is a beautiful, strong, classic American bison on the reverse.”

Honored speakers included Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY); U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral; Mr. Emil Her Many Horses of the Oglala Lakota, Associate Curator of the National Museum of the American Indian; Daniel P. Jordan, President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation; and Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts. Cody, a 2000-pound American Bison, stood nearby, bringing to life the new reverse image on the 2005 nickel.

Following the ceremony at Upper Senate Park, the National Nickel Exchange proceeded inside Union Station with a public exchange of bills for $2 rolls of shiny, new American Bison nickels.

The Nation’s new 2005 nickels with a bold, new image of President Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and an American bison on the reverse, went into circulation Monday, February 28. Millions of new nickels that look significantly different from the Nation’s previous 5-cent coins are on the way to the Nation’s banks. Americans can expect to receive the new nickels in their change in a few weeks or they can ask for them at their local banks.

The American Bison nickel is the third design in the United States Mint’s Westward Journey Nickel Series™, which began with the Peace Medal nickel, followed by the Keelboat nickel, in 2004. The Ocean in View nickel, a fourth design, will be released later in 2005. A law passed by Congress and approved by President Bush in April 2003, authorized the redesign of the Nation’s 5-cent coin for the first time since 1938 to commemorate the bicentennials of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Starting February 28, 2005, Americans may order bags and rolls of American Bison nickels online at www.usmint.gov.

For photos of the 2005 American Bison nickel, go to: http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/ 

News media: For b-roll video 2005 American Bison nickels being minted, call United States Mint Public Affairs: 202-354-7222

Contact: Press inquiries: Michael White (202) 354-7222
Customer Service information: (800) USA MINT (872-6468)