5 Cents 'Jefferson Nickel' 1st portrait

Felix Schlag won the design competition in 1938 from a field of 390 artists, but the Mint forced him to revise his original reverse before striking began — his submitted design included a perspective view of Monticello that judges considered too unconventional. The obverse portrait was also modified without his input, a slight Schlag reportedly never forgot.

During 1942–45, nickel was diverted to war production and the composition shifted to a 35% silver alloy, making those wartime issues a distinct sub-type. The standard copper-nickel alloy resumed in 1946 and ran essentially unchanged for decades.