New 2006 Nickle from US Mint

In my opinion - it's all part of their marketing campaign. The mint knows they struck gold with the nickel series - so now they are trying to push it along for just one more coin.

According to law as written - the 2006 nickel is going to be the LAST design for the US nickel - forever. The '07 will be just exactly like the '06. And the '08 will be just like the '07. Does that make the '07 & '08 part of the Westward Journey series too ? I think not.

As I said - a marketing campaign - nothing more.

 

This is from the Mint's web site as well - dated Nov.7,2003

Now what that statement does not tell you is that the mint said that they didn't have time to design and strike a new nickel for the latter half of 2003 as the law said they could. So the new 2003 nickel never came to be.

The statement also does not tell you that the law, as originally written, only called for new nickel designs in 2003, 2004 & 2005. The coins from these 3 yrs - and only these years - were to be called the Westward Journey series.

But then the Congressional delegates from Virginia got upset. So they introduced an ammendment to the law that would require the mint to strike a nickel in 2006 with Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and Monticello on the reverse - and that these two images would remain on the nickel forever. But they forgot to mention that they wanted the "old" design to return. Anyway the law was passed.

Once the law was passed - somebody realized that the law did not require the old designs to be used. So the mint came up with the bright idea of creating new T.J. & Monticello designs - this would allow them to have a new design and still comply with the law as written.

So - that is why we are having a new nickel for 2006. It has nothing to do with the Westward Journey series - it never did. The mint is saying that it does so that they can capitalize on the additional sales it will generate. It's pure marketing.