1938-D Jefferson Nickel: Denver’s First Jefferson
Coin Encyclopedia · 8 min read · Published November 7, 2026
The 1938-D Jefferson nickel is the first Jefferson nickel Denver ever struck, and it arrived in a year of change. The Buffalo nickel, which had run since 1913, was replaced in 1938 by a new design: Thomas Jefferson on the obverse, his home Monticello on the reverse. Denver struck 5,376,000 of them in that first year. Our guide records $1–$4 as the starting range for the 1938-D and 1938-S, which makes them first-year coins rather than rarities, but first-year coins have a standing of their own: they are the date every Jefferson collection starts with, and the Denver issue is the scarcer of the two first-year branch-mint dates.
That standing is worth understanding. A first-year coin is not valuable because it is rare. It is valuable because it is first, and because collectors want the beginning of the story. The 1938-D is the beginning of the Denver Jefferson story, and it is a coin that turns up in rolls, in jars, and in inherited albums more often than any other first-year branch-mint nickel. If you find one, the first job is the same as on every Jefferson nickel: confirm the date, confirm the D, and do not clean it.
A new nickel for 1938
The Buffalo nickel had run for twenty-five years, and by 1938 the Mint was ready for a change. The Buffalo design was beautiful and impractical in equal measure: the date wore away, the bison’s horn struck softly, and the coin was hard on the dies. The Jefferson design was the opposite in every way: a clean portrait, a clean building, and a design that struck up well and wore evenly. It has been the five-cent piece ever since, with only the wartime silver years of 1942–1945 breaking the pattern, and it is the longest-running design in American coinage.
Denver’s first year with the new design was a modest one. The mint struck 5,376,000 Jefferson nickels in 1938, a figure that looks small beside the tens of millions Philadelphia struck in later years, and small beside the Buffalo mintages it replaced. The coins went into circulation in the Mountain West, where five-cent pieces worked hard, and they stayed there. A 1938-D with a full date and a clear D is already a survivor. One with full steps as well is a coin to keep.
Reading the D and the steps
The mint mark is the whole attribution on this coin. On a regular-issue Jefferson nickel the mint mark sits on the reverse, to the right of Monticello: a D means Denver, an S means San Francisco, and no mark means Philadelphia. It is a small letter and it wears early, so check it under a loupe with the light raking across the surface from the side. Do not confuse it with the wartime silver nickels of 1942–1945, where the mint mark is a large letter above the dome: that oversized mark is the silver test, and it belongs to a different set of years entirely.
Then look at the steps. At the base of Monticello there are steps, and on a sharply struck Jefferson nickel they are fully separated, with clean lines between them. Collectors call that Full Steps, and it earns a real premium, because most Jefferson nickels were struck with the steps partly merged. The steps are the grading story of the whole series: a coin can be uncirculated and still lack Full Steps, and a coin with Full Steps is worth more than the same grade without them. On a first-year coin, where the dies were fresh and the strikes were good, Full Steps is more common than in later years, but it is never guaranteed.
What our value guide records for this date
Our value guide has not yet researched the 1938-D grade by grade, so the table below is all dashes for now. That is the honest position: the catalog reviewed November 5, 2026, records the mintage and nothing else for this date, and we will not fill the grades with figures borrowed from elsewhere. The table will be completed as the grade-by-grade research lands.
| Grade | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| Good (G-4) | — |
| Fine (F-12) | — |
| Extremely Fine (XF-40) | — |
| About Uncirculated (AU-50) | — |
| Mint State 60 (MS-60) | — |
| Mint State 65 (MS-65) | — |
What the catalog does record is the mintage, and on this date the mintage does most of the talking. Denver struck 5,376,000 Jefferson nickels in 1938, against the tens of millions Philadelphia struck in later years. Our guide records $1–$4 as the starting range for the 1938-D and 1938-S, which is the floor of the date: a worn first-year coin is worth a few dollars, and an uncirculated one with Full Steps is worth considerably more.
The coin at a glance
The Jefferson nickel is 75% copper and 25% nickel, weighs 5.0 grams, measures 21.2 millimetres across, and has a plain edge. There is no precious metal in this coin, and the metal floor is —, because there is no metal floor to show: a worn common-date Jefferson nickel is a five-cent coin, and a worn 1938-D is a first-year date, and the difference is the date and the mint mark, not the metal. The design is Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and Monticello, his home, on the reverse, and it has been the five-cent piece since 1938.
Handling, storage, and getting a second opinion
Hold the coin by its edge, never across the faces, and never clean it. Cleaning strips the original surface and leaves hairlines that a grader will spot at once, and on a Jefferson nickel those hairlines can be mistaken for wear on the steps. Keep the coin in an acid-free flip or a proper holder, away from humidity, and do not store it loose with other coins where the date can rub away further. If the coin looks uncirculated, or if the steps are fully separated, a professional opinion from PCGS or NGC is worth the fee: certification settles the grade and the Full Steps designation in one step, and on a first-year date that certainty matters.
Latest reported results for this coin
Checking for newly reported results…
Your 1938-D questions, answered
How much is a 1938-D Jefferson nickel worth?
Our guide records $1–$4 as the starting range for the 1938-D and 1938-S. They are first-year coins, not rarities, and the worth of any single example depends on its condition and strike.
Why is 1938 the first year of the Jefferson nickel?
Because the Buffalo nickel, which had run since 1913, was replaced in 1938. The Jefferson design, with Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his home Monticello on the reverse, has been the five-cent piece ever since, with only the wartime silver years breaking the pattern.
Where is the mint mark on a 1938-D Jefferson nickel?
On the reverse, to the right of Monticello. A D means Denver, an S means San Francisco, and no mark means Philadelphia. On the wartime silver nickels of 1942–1945 the mint mark is different: a large letter above the dome.
How many 1938-D Jefferson nickels were struck?
Denver struck 5,376,000 in 1938, the first year of the design. That is a modest first-year run beside the tens of millions Philadelphia struck in later years, and it is the main reason the date commands respect.
Does our value guide list estimates for the 1938-D yet?
Not yet. All six grades currently show “—” in our catalog, reviewed November 5, 2026. We show the gap rather than guessing, and the table will be completed as the grade-by-grade research is done.
Check your 1938-D
Run the date and mint mark through the free Coin Value Checker for an instant estimate, or get a Grade-or-Not verdict on whether your coin is worth certifying. The full series guide is here: Nickel Values: 5¢ Coins Worth Up to $4.56 Million.
This guide is for learning and collecting, not financial advice. Every estimate here comes from our own researched catalog, and the real worth of any single coin depends on its condition, its strike, and the market on the day you hold it.
This guide is for education — learn the coin first, and get a professional opinion before buying or selling.
