2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 558,960,000 made
- Mintage
- 558,960,000
- Metal
- 75% copper, 25% nickel
- Weight
- 5 g
- Diameter
- 21.21 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel worth?
A worn 2012-D is a spender: face value. A bright uncirculated one, or one with a known error, is worth setting aside.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel rare?
- Not by date: 559 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel silver?
- No. It's 75% copper, 25% nickel. The only silver nickels are the 1942 to 1945 wartime coins with a large mint mark above Monticello.
- Where is the mint mark on a 2012 Return to Monticello Nickel?
- On the obverse, below the date (P, D or S). On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 2012 are scarcer?
- The 2009-D at 46,800,000, the 2010-D at 229,920,000, the 2008-D at 345,600,000, plus 1 more. So the 2012-D is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel coins were made?
- 558,960,000.
What to check on your 2012-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 2012-P (465 million made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 2012-S Return to Monticello Nickel Proof (1,239,148 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the steps of Monticello and Jefferson's cheek. Fully struck coins with five or six steps sell for premiums in high grades.
With 559 million made, the 2012-D still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 2012-D
Denver made 558,960,000 in 2012, about the same as the year before. In 2013 the figure was 616 million.
2012-P came to 465 million, so neither mint's 2012 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Denver's 20 Return to Monticello Nickel issues, the hardest to find is the 2024-D with 32,880,000 made. The 2012-D is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 2010s it's 7th smallest of 20, between the 2011-D (540 million) and the 2019-P (568 million).
Recovery and the search for cheaper metals (2010 to 2016)
Production recovered from 2010, rising from about 260 million at Philadelphia to more than 750 million at each mint by 2015 and 2016. The Coin Modernization, Oversight and Continuity Act of 2010 directed the Mint to study cheaper alloys. Test pieces were struck in several metals, but the copper-nickel composition stayed unchanged.
Proofs were struck at San Francisco each year, with mintages falling from about 1.7 million in 2010 to about 1 million by 2016 as collector set sales declined. Circulating coins from these years are common. Collectors look for complete steps on Monticello, strong hair detail and minor die varieties. Some dates show die cracks from long production runs. Bright uncirculated coins are easy to find in rolls and mint sets.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 2012
The Mint stopped striking Presidential dollars for circulation after the Federal Reserve reported a huge stockpile of unused dollar coins. They were struck for collectors only from 2012.
How to recognize it
Jamie Franki's obverse shows Jefferson facing forward, with LIBERTY in his handwriting and the date and mint mark below. The reverse returns to the front view of Monticello with MONTICELLO and FIVE CENTS beneath and E PLURIBUS UNUM above.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Return to Monticello Nickel (2006–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 558,960,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.21 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Jamie Franki (obverse); Felix Schlag (reverse, re-engraved) |
Other 2012 Return to Monticello Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-P Return to Monticello Nickel | 464,640,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 2012-D Return to Monticello Nickel | 558,960,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 2012-S Return to Monticello Nickel Proof | 1,239,148 | Proof | – |
Mintage: United States nickel mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.