1961 Jefferson Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 73,640,000 made
- Mintage
- 73,640,000
- 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 1961 Jefferson Nickel worth?
A worn 1961 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
- Full steps on Monticello (5FS or 6FS)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1961 Jefferson Nickel rare?
- Not by date: 74 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1961 Jefferson 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 1961 Jefferson Nickel?
- On the reverse, to the right of Monticello. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1961 are scarcer?
- The 1958 at 17,088,000, the 1959 at 27,248,000, the 1956 at 35,216,000, plus 2 more. So the 1961 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1961 Jefferson Nickel coins were made?
- 73,640,000.
What to check on your 1961
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1961 Jefferson Nickel Proof (3,028,244 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. The steps of Monticello are the key: coins with 5 or 6 full steps (5FS / 6FS) sell for large premiums. On the obverse, check Jefferson's cheekbone and hair.
With 73,640,000 made, you can still find a 1961 in rolls, old jars and inherited collections. The coins worth keeping are the uncirculated ones and any with a doubled die or other variety.
The story of the 1961
Philadelphia made 73,640,000 in 1961, up from 55 million in 1960. In 1962 the figure was 97 million.
1961-D came to 229 million, so neither mint's 1961 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Philadelphia's 64 Jefferson Nickel issues, the hardest to find is the 1955 with 7,888,000 made. The 1961 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Among the 1960s issues, only the 1960 had a smaller run.
More on the 1961
Philadelphia struck 76,668,244 Jefferson nickels in 1961, about a third of Denver's 229,342,760. The no mint mark coin is the smaller issue, though both are plentiful. Like every Jefferson nickel outside the wartime years, it's 75% copper and 25% nickel with no silver at all.
Proof sets of 1961 were also made at Philadelphia. Like the business strikes, their nickels carry no mint mark. A mirror-bright 1961 with no mint mark may simply have come from a broken proof set, so check for deep, reflective fields and sharp squared rims. For ordinary 1961 nickels, collectors judge quality by the steps of Monticello on the reverse: a coin with five or six complete, unbroken steps is uncommon and earns a collector premium. Look at the steps under magnification, since a single nick across them counts against full steps. Worn coins are face value; bright uncirculated pieces carry a small premium. Uncirculated mint sets of 1961 also included a Philadelphia nickel and coins from those sets are a good source of original luster.
Coin shortage years and no mint marks (1956 to 1967)
Output grew rapidly through the late 1950s and early 1960s, led by Denver, which struck more than 280 million in 1962. A nationwide coin shortage in the early 1960s, blamed on vending machines, hoarding and a booming economy, led the Mint to strike more than 2.8 billion nickels dated 1964, with production of that date continuing into 1965.
From 1965 to 1967 the Mint removed mint marks from all coins to discourage hoarding. Special Mint Sets with satin finish coins replaced proof sets. In 1966 Felix Schlag's initials, FS, were added below the bust, more than 25 years after his design first appeared. Coins from this era are abundant and rarely carry a premium unless they show full steps, a strong proof-like finish or a notable error.
How to recognize it
Felix Schlag's portrait shows Thomas Jefferson facing left with IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY and the date. The reverse shows the front of Monticello, Jefferson's home, with MONTICELLO and FIVE CENTS below. The mint mark was to the right of the building until 1964 (above the dome on wartime silver nickels) and moved to the obverse, near the date, in 1968. Schlag's initials FS were added below the bust in 1966.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Jefferson Nickel (1938–2003) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1961 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 73,640,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.21 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Felix Schlag |
Other 1961 Jefferson Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Jefferson Nickel | 73,640,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1961 Jefferson Nickel Proof | 3,028,244 | Proof | – |
| 1961-D Jefferson Nickel | 229,342,760 | Circulation strike | – |
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.