1961-D Jefferson Nickel

The 1961-D Jefferson Nickel had an incredibly large mintage of over 229 million coins struck at the Denver Mint. The Denver Mint was notorious for producing some less than stellar coins over the past few years and the 1961-D Jefferson Nickel is no different. This might be one of the toughest coins in the entire series to find with the Full Step designation which makes it an exciting one to hunt down and find with the Full Steps distinction. Most of the dies were worn out for this issue date so the reverse of the coin was typically weakly struck which meant that the stairs that give it the Full Step designation weren’t well struck.

History of the 1961-D Jefferson Nickel

With such a large mintage, the 1961-D Jefferson Nickel is a plentiful coin in circulated grades and even into higher Mint State grades. Cherrypicking is highly advised as the strike on these coins is typically on the weaker side. It’s possible to find well-struck coins, it just requires careful searching to find exactly what you’re looking for. The higher grades command somewhat of a premium compared to others in the series. The Jefferson Nickel was originally designed by Felix Schlag. The coin is still in production today and the designs have changed somewhat over the years. The reverse of this original design features Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home alongside the ‘D’ mint mark next to the structure. The obverse of the coin features Jefferson himself, but just his head in profile.