1955 Jefferson Nickel

The story of the 1955

Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1955. Only 7,888,000 were made, against 48 million the year before. That drop is why the 1955 is the one people look for. The next year it made 35 million (1956).

The other mint made far more that year: 1955-D alone came to 74 million, roughly 9.4 for every 1955. If you're checking a pile of 1955 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1951-S (7,776,000) and the 1939-S (6,630,000).

Of the 64 Jefferson Nickels Philadelphia struck between 1938 and 2003, this is the scarcest. Within the 1950s it's 3rd smallest of 24, between the 1951-S (7.8 million) and the 1950 (9.8 million).

Return to copper-nickel and the 1950-D (1946 to 1955)

The prewar alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel returned in 1946, along with the small mint mark to the right of Monticello. Output was modest in the late 1940s as wartime demand eased. The 1950-D, with only 2.6 million coined, became the key date of the series. Speculators hoarded it in rolls almost at once, so it is found in uncirculated condition more often than worn.

Overmintmarks from this period include the 1949-D/S, 1954-S/D and 1955-D/S, created when a die was punched with one mint mark and then corrected with another. San Francisco stopped striking nickels after 1954. Philadelphia struck a low 8.3 million in 1955. Coins from these years are common in uncirculated condition, but full steps examples are scarce for many dates, especially from Denver and San Francisco.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1955

Doubled hub impressions on one Philadelphia cent die produced the 1955 Doubled Die cent, one of the most famous US errors. It was also the last year San Francisco struck circulating cents until 1968.