1939-S Jefferson Nickel

The 1939-S Jefferson Nickel is another of the semi-key issues from the series' early years, produced with a lower mintage than the Philadelphia coin of the same date. It is especially notable to variety collectors for an associated doubled-die reverse, on which the word MONTICELLO shows visible doubling.

Collectors seek the 1939-S both as a standard date-and-mint set requirement and, separately, as a doubled-die variety hunt, since the doubling adds a layer of interest beyond simple mintmark scarcity.

It is commonly discussed together with the 1939-D as the pair of tougher dates from that year, making 1939 a notably more expensive year to complete than the surrounding dates in a basic Jefferson Nickel folder.

In 1939, the San Francisco Mint struck a comparatively modest number of Jefferson Nickels, producing an issue that would later be recognized as scarcer than its Philadelphia counterpart. During the same production run, a working reverse die was hubbed with a noticeable misalignment, resulting in doubling most visible in the lettering of MONTICELLO.

This doubled-die reverse went unnoticed by the public at the time of issue but was identified and cataloged decades later as variety collecting became more sophisticated, and it is now a well-documented and desirable variety within the broader 1939-S date.

The combination of a genuinely lower mintage and an interesting doubled-die variety has made 1939 as a whole, and the S-mint issue in particular, a point of focus for specialists in early Jefferson Nickel varieties.

The obverse displays Thomas Jefferson facing left with LIBERTY and a star to the left, IN GOD WE TRUST above his portrait, and the 1939 date at the bottom. The reverse shows Monticello with MONTICELLO below it, FIVE CENTS beneath that, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the top rim with E PLURIBUS UNUM along the edge.

The San Francisco mintmark S is located on the reverse to the right of the building. On the doubled-die variety, magnification reveals clear doubling in the letters of MONTICELLO, sometimes described as a shelf-like or trail effect on certain letters; this is distinct from ordinary die deterioration doubling and should show consistent, flat doubled edges typical of a true hub doubling event.

As with other early Jefferson Nickels, collectors check the steps of Monticello for strike quality, and grade wear based on Jefferson's cheek and hairline along with the roofline and pillars of the building.

A standard 1939-S nickel commands a premium over common dates similar to, though sometimes slightly less than, the 1939-D, with values rising for Full Steps mint-state examples. The doubled-die reverse variety carries an additional premium over a normal 1939-S of the same grade, reflecting the extra demand from variety specialists.

As always, strike quality, surface preservation, and (for the variety) clarity of the doubling are the primary drivers of price, and certified examples attributed to the doubled-die variety by a major grading service typically command the strongest and most consistent premiums.