JEFFERSON NICKEL

VARIETIES • RPMs • FULL STEPS

DDO • DDR • RPM • OVER MINTMARKS • FULL STEPS • ATTRIBUTION CHECKLIST

SORTING LEGEND

P1Pull Immediately / Authenticate

P2Check Carefully / Better Variety

P3Common Date / Condition Pull

FSFull Steps

DDODoubled Die Obverse

DDRDoubled Die Reverse

RPMRepunched Mintmark

OMMOver Mintmark

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Microscope
or 10x loupe

0.01g
Scale

Good
Lighting

Reference
Guide

1 DOUBLED DIES / MAJOR VARIETIES

Variety	Mint	Priority	Diagnostic
1939 Doubled Monticello	—	P1	Strong reverse doubling
1943/2-P Overdate	P	P1	Overdate on obverse date
1945-P DDR	P	P2	MONTICELLO / FIVE CENTS doubling
1964 DDO	—/D	P2	Check date and lettering
2005 Speared Bison	D	P2	Die gouge across bison

AVOID MACHINE DOUBLING

True doubled dies show design separation from the die. Flat, shelf-like doubling is often machine doubling and usually not the valuable variety.

2 RPM / OVER MINTMARK CHECKLIST

Variety	Priority	What To Check
1939-D/S	P2	Denver over San Francisco mintmark
1949-D/S	P2	D over S over mintmark
1954-S/D	P2	S over D over mintmark
1955-D/S	P2	D over S over mintmark
1955-S/D	P2	S over D over mintmark

LOOK TO THE RIGHT OF MONTICELLO

Most regular Jefferson nickel mintmarks from 1938–1964 are on the reverse to the right of Monticello. War nickels are the big exception.

3 FULL STEPS DIAGNOSTICS

Normal / Weak Steps

Common circulation strikes may show weak, broken, or interrupted steps.

Full Steps Candidate

Check: 5FS or 6FS requires clear, uninterrupted step detail on Mint State nickels.

WHY FULL STEPS MATTER

Full Steps designations are collector-important because many Jefferson nickels are weakly struck at Monticello.

4 ADVANCED IMAGE GALLERY — PLACEHOLDERS FOR LOCAL AUTHENTIC IMAGES

1939 DDR

Obv

Rev

Check Monticello, FIVE CENTS, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

1945-P DDR

Obv

Rev

Look for reverse lettering separation.

1949-D/S

Obv

Rev

Scope the mintmark area.

1954-S/D

Obv

Rev

Popular over mintmark variety.

1955-D/S

Obv

Rev

Check for underlying S below D.

1964 DDO

Obv

Rev

Check date, motto, and lettering under magnification.

Full Steps

5FS

6FS

Use strong light and tilt the reverse.

Mintmark Area

Regular

War

Right of Monticello vs above Monticello.

ATTRIBUTION NOTES

1939 DDR

Often called Doubled Monticello; major reverse variety.

1943/2-P

Overdate on a silver war nickel.

1945 DDR

Reverse doubled die; check words and building.

OMM

Over mintmark varieties require magnification.

FS

Only Mint State coins qualify for FS designations.

5FS

Five Full Steps designation.

6FS

Six Full Steps designation.

PHOTOS

Capture straight-on reverse images for attribution.