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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 1460364, member: 15309&quot;]In the early part of 1939, the mint changed the reverse design of the Jefferson Nickel by strengthening the steps of Monticello.&nbsp; As a result, the Jefferson Nickels generated from each mint (P-D-S) in 1939 produced examples with the original step design from 1938 and the new design, which was designated the Reverse of 1940.&nbsp; Identifying the differences between the Reverse of 1938 vs the Reverse of 1940 is a problematic for many Jefferson Nickel collectors.&nbsp; The purpose of this article is to both describe and show the key differences in the two reverse designs so that the readers can understand and correctly apply the knowledge.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Reverse of 1938 is often described as having &quot;wavy&quot; steps.&nbsp; A description that seems vague until you actually view a Jefferson Nickel with a reverse of 1938.&nbsp; In essence, the steps do not appear to have the same thickness and the inevitable presence of &quot;bridges&quot; even in Full Step examples exacerbates the effect.&nbsp; In addition, the steps do not have a defined start and end making some steps appear longer than others.</p><p><br /></p><p>The design change in 1939 corrected the striking problems.&nbsp; The Reverse of 1940 displays a vertical indentation on both sides of the steps which serves as a consistent start and end to the steps.&nbsp; This is probably the easiest feature of the new design to both see and use to attribute the correct reverse.&nbsp; Another change was that the top step was thickened in an attempt to represent the porch rather than an actual step.&nbsp; Lastly, the steps are even, distinct, and well defined and no longer appear wavy.</p><p><br /></p><p>The photo below shows 3 different photos of each Reverse design in order to clearly illustrate the differences between the two reverses.&nbsp; Please note that the top photo of the Reverse of 38 is actually considered full steps while the other two photos are of non full step coins.&nbsp; All of the coins with the reverse of 1940 are full step coins.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Misc/Reverses38and401.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Misc/Reverses38and402.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Misc/Reverses38and403.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #0000CD"><font size="7"><font face="Century Gothic">Reverse of 1938 vs Reverse of 1940</font></font></span></p><p><br /></p><p>Some might argue that it is not necessary to have the knowledge to make such attributions since the TPG&#039;s will make them for you.&nbsp; And while that theory may be correct for new submissions, consider the following two factors.&nbsp; First, the TPG&#039;s can and to make mistakes.&nbsp; Second, the TPG&#039;s did not recognize the difference between the two reverses during the early years of their existence.&nbsp; The result is that there are many 1939 Jefferson Nickels out there in early generation slabs with no reverse attribution at all on the TPG label.&nbsp; Examine the three photos below.&nbsp; The first two show newer generation slabs from both PCGS &amp; NGC with the proper Reverse attribution on the label.&nbsp; The last is an old NGC no-line fattie holder (generation 5 circa 1992-1995).&nbsp; Please note that there is no designation for either reverse on the slab.&nbsp; But after reading this article, and viewing the two coins above it, even a casual glance should give you the answer.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JN1939Revof38PCGSMS66.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Full%20Steps/JeffersonNickel1939Rev40NGCMS665FS.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1939rev40NGCMS67wlabel.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Since the 1939-D is essentially the <i>recognized</i> key date for the Jefferson series, understanding the differences between the two reverses is extremely important.&nbsp; Technically, the 1950-D has the lowest mintage but BU rolls were hoarded, and the issue actually very common in mint state condition.&nbsp; It is also important to consider that distribution of which reverses were used by each mint vary greatly.&nbsp; The Philadelphia mint generated a whopping 120 million nickels in 1939 but only about 10% (12 million) were with the reverse of 1938.&nbsp; Of those, only 1 in 400 had full steps leaving only about 30 thousand.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The Denver mint only produced 3.5 million nickels, which is the lowest mintage behind the aforementioned 1950-D.&nbsp; Additionally, only 25% of those were minted with the reverse of 1938 yielding 875 thousand 1939-D Jefferson Nickels with a Reverse of 1938.&nbsp; Finding a 1939-D in premium gem is difficult (see photo below), but finding a full step example is rare due to the fact that only about 1 of 150 had full steps taking the starting population down to 5,800 coins.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1939-DRevof38NGCM-14.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The mintage in San Francisco was 6.6 million and the reverse usage was almost 50/50 with the Reverse of 1938 having a slight advantage.&nbsp; Finding a full step Reverse of 1938 is also easier for the S mint Jeffersons at 1 in 100 leaving us with 33,000 coins.&nbsp; Given that 10% of the 1939-S Reverse of 1940 have full steps, one would think that finding one would be rather easy since we started with 330,000 coins.&nbsp; As of December 2011, the total NGC/PCGS population of the 1939-S Reverse of 40 MS65 FS is 48/17.&nbsp; Compare that to the total population of the 1939-S Reverse of 38 MS65 FS is 51/17.&nbsp; The populations are almost identical despite the fact that the Reverse of 40 had 10X as many coins to start.</p><p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Full%20Steps/JN1939-SRevof40NGCMS655FS.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I have been an avid collector of Jefferson Nickels for almost a decade.&nbsp; The only 1939 issue that I have ever had trouble finding an attractive example in gem state is the 1939-S Reverse of 1940.&nbsp; Consider that there are only 177 (12/2011) MS65 or better 1939-S Reverse of 40 coins graded by both NGC &amp; PCGS and that includes both full step and non full step examples.&nbsp; To give an idea of the rarity of the 1939-S Rev of 40, the current populations (12/2011) of the 1939-D Rev of 38 MS67 and 1939-S Rev of 38 MS67 are 322/0 and 104/0 respectively for non full step examples.&nbsp; I submit that real key date of the Jefferson Nickel series is the 1939-S Reverse of 1940.</p><p><br /></p><p>In summary, there are three key differences between the Reverse of 1938 vs Reverse of 1940:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><ol> <li>Wavy Steps for 1938 vs Well Defined Steps for 1940</li> <li>A vertical indentation to start &amp; end the steps on the Reverse of 1940</li> <li>The Reverse of 1940 has a thicker top step</li> </ol><p><br /></p><p>It is important to know these differences because there are many certified 1939 Jefferson Nickels in TPG holders that are not properly attributed on the label.&nbsp; Due to the distribution of the reverse design mintages, the reverse design can significantly affect the price of the coin.&nbsp; It is my sincere hope that anyone who reads this article will gain the requisite knowledge needed to understand the complexities of the 1939 Jefferson Nickels.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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