Westward Journey Nickel Series
Westward Journey Nickel Series: Major Varieties and Mint Errors
Westward Journey Nickel Series
Mint dates: 2004–2005
Design and release sequence
The United States Mint issued four circulating reverses to commemorate the bicentennials of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The 2004 coins paired Felix Schlag’s familiar Jefferson portrait with the Peace Medal and Keelboat reverses. The 2005 coins introduced Joe Fitzgerald’s right-facing Jefferson portrait, modeled by Don Everhart, with the American Bison and Ocean in View reverses. All regular issues are 21.20 millimeters, 5.00 grams, 75% copper and 25% nickel, with a plain edge. [1]
| Release | Reverse | What identifies the design |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 first | Peace Medal | Two hands clasped beneath crossed pipe and tomahawk |
| 2004 second | Keelboat | Lewis and Clark’s expedition boat under full sail |
| 2005 first | American Bison | A standing bison in profile |
| 2005 second | Ocean in View | Pacific coastline with the inscription OCEAN IN VIEW! O! THE JOY! |
Key design details
- 2004 obverse: Traditional left-facing Jefferson portrait; date and mintmark at lower right.
- 2005 obverse: Larger right-facing Jefferson portrait; LIBERTY appears in Jefferson’s handwriting.
- Mintmarks: P for Philadelphia, D for Denver and S on proofs from San Francisco.
- Edge and composition: Plain edge; solid copper-nickel alloy, not clad.
- Full Steps: A strike-quality designation based on Monticello is not applicable to the four Westward Journey reverses.
Scope and attribution standard
This guide lists exactly the three Westward Journey entries currently carried by NGC VarietyPlus as attributed varieties: the 2004-P Handshake DDO, 2005-P Bison DDO and 2005-D Speared Bison. The live NGC year filter ends at 2005, so it supplies no post-2005 Return-to-Monticello entry. This guide does not turn ordinary dates, minor specialist dies, damage, or marketplace nicknames into varieties. Production errors are separated below because they arise from individual coining accidents rather than a repeatable attributed die. [2]
Varieties
Quick jump: 2004-P Handshake DDO · 2005-P Bison DDO · 2005-D Speared Bison
2004-P Handshake DDO (FS-101)
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Begin on the obverse. Look for clear raised separation and notching on the date 2004, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The handshake reverse gives the variety its popular nickname, but it is not the doubled area. This is a relatively minor doubled die compared with classic naked-eye DDOs, so use magnification and require the published pattern; flat, shelf-like reduction is machine doubling.
Catalog references: NGC FS-101; CONECA DDO-001; VarietyPlus VP-001; PCGS #519985. NGC family listing. PCGS attribution record.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the complete raised-doubling pattern against the cited attribution.
2005-P Bison DDO (FS-101)
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Inspect the obverse for raised hub doubling on IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, the date and the P mintmark. Require the same direction and separation across several of those elements; a flat shelf on only one letter or digit is machine doubling, not this attributed die.
Catalog references: NGC FS-101; CONECA DDO-001. Specific NGC attribution record.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the complete raised-doubling pattern against the cited attribution.
2005-D Bison Speared (VP-001)
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Inspect the bison’s body for a strong raised die gouge running roughly vertically from the upper back or shoulder through the torso toward the belly. Its exact position, angle and raised relief must match the attribution; scratches cut into the coin and random die chips do not qualify.
Catalog references: NGC VarietyPlus VP-001; commonly called the Speared Bison. NGC family listing; PCGS CoinFacts record.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the line’s placement and raised relief against the cited attribution.
Errors
These are production errors, not repeatable die varieties. The same broad classes can occur on any of the four designs, but authentication depends on physical evidence from the individual coin.
Off-center strike
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Part of the planchet was outside the dies when struck. Look for an unstruck crescent with matching design loss; damage that merely removes design is not an off-center strike.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Broadstrike
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
The coin was struck without full collar restraint and spread beyond its normal diameter. Look for an expanded, usually complete design and abnormal rim—not post-Mint flattening.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Double or multiple strike
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Two or more press strikes left overlapping raised design. The displacement and metal flow must follow coining geometry; vise coins and impact damage do not.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Brockage
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
A struck coin remained in the press and impressed a recessed, mirror-image design into another planchet. The transferred design must be incuse and reversed.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Clipped planchet
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
The blank was punched from an overlapping or edge position in the metal strip. Genuine clips show compatible metal flow and may show a weakened rim opposite the clip—the Blakesley effect.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Lamination or split planchet
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
An alloy flaw caused metal to peel or separate before or after striking. Genuine separation follows the planchet metal and differs from corrosion, gouging or plating added after leaving the Mint.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Struck-through
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
Foreign material came between a die and planchet, leaving a recessed texture or missing design. A retained struck-through still holds the object; most preserve only its impression.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
Wrong-planchet or off-metal strike
Applicable date(s): 2004–2005
Do You Have One? What To Look For:
The nickel design was struck on a planchet intended for another denomination or metal. Diameter, weight, composition, edge and design fit must agree; plating after the strike is not a Mint error.
Original CoinHunt educational schematic—not a coin photograph. Confirm the physical evidence on the individual coin.
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Sources
- United States Mint: Westward Journey Nickels. Official history, release sequence and design descriptions.
- NGC VarietyPlus: Jefferson Five Cents, page 2. Major attributed Westward Journey varieties and catalog cross-references.
- PCGS CoinFacts: Westward Journey Designs. Series records and specifications.
- PCGS: The Popular Off-Center Strike. PCGS. Definition and diagnostics for off-center strikes.
- PCGS: The Two Types of Struck-Through Error Coins. PCGS. Struck-through and retained struck-through definitions.
- CONECA: Glossary of Error-Variety Terms. CONECA. Definitions distinguishing die varieties from mechanical Mint errors.
Editorial boundary: The United States Mint, NGC and PCGS are credited for historical, catalog and diagnostic research. CoinHunt reproduces no source photographs. All inspection maps are original educational schematics.
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Revision history
- : Created the design-wide guide in CoinHunt's reviewed varieties-and-errors format. — Bradley Jones