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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 1084341, member: 15309&quot;]I don&#039;t think it is necessary to have knowledge about the history of coins or the artists who designed them in order to enjoy coin collecting.&nbsp; However, I do believe that the level of enjoyment of this great hobby is enhanced greatly when you include the historical aspect of collecting.&nbsp; And how many collectors like your friend see a modern Jefferson Nickel minted after 1966 and see the initials FS below Jefferson&#039;s bust and wonder, what do they mean.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Raw/JN1987-DNGC.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Then they find out that the initials stand for the name Felix Schlag, the artist who designed the Jefferson Nickel.&nbsp; And maybe for some collectors like your friend, that information is enough.&nbsp; But if they were to dig just a little bit deeper, they would find that Schlag was not a mint engraver, he was not even a commissioned artist, he was the winner of a national competition to design the new nickel.&nbsp; Below is the start of the contest announcement.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: blue"><p style="text-align: center"><i><b>National Competition for New Design for Five Cent Coin</b></i></p></span></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="color: blue"><i><b>Open to All American Sculptors</b></i></p><p><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i>The Treasury Department, Procurement Division, Section of Painting and Sculpture invites competition for designs for a new five cent coin to be known as the &quot;Jefferson Nickel.&quot;&nbsp; This competition is open to all American sculptors.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i>The competition requirements are that a sculptor entering the competition must submit two plaster models, one representing the obverse and one the reverse of the coin.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i>The sum of $1,000 is to be paid to the winner.&nbsp; The sculptor whose designs win the competition will be required to execute a formal contract with the Treasury Department, agreeing to make any revisions required by the Secretary of the Treasury.</i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i>All designs wil be judged by the following Advisory Committee who have kindly consented to act with the Section of Painting and Sculpture in judging the competition:</i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><i>Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the Mint...</i></span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p>And your friend would also not know that Schlag was forced to completely redesign the reverse of his winning design. I don&#039;t have a photo of the original design, but I hope someone else will come by and post one.</p><p><br /></p><p>Everytime I see a high grade Jefferson Nickel in all of it&#039;s glory, I wonder how the coin would have looked with the original reverse.&nbsp; I wonder what Schlag would have thought about me paying more for this nickel than he was awarded for his design.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%20Full%20Steps/JN1940-SNGCMS676FS.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Your friend just sees another pretty nickel.&nbsp; It is his loss, but then again, ignorance is bliss.</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW, welcome to the forum![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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