A Quiet Sunday Surprise
It started like any other Sunday. I was helping count the loose coins from the small wooden donation box at the back of our church — something I’ve done every month since joining the stewardship committee. Most coins are modern-day pennies, the occasional quarter, and lots of dimes from generous folks dropping in what they can. But that day, something different slid across my palm.
The nickel looked… old. Not just worn — aged. The soft gray surface had none of the brightness of modern coins, and when I turned it over, the date caught my eye: 1938.
First Year Jefferson — But That’s Not All
Now, I’ve always been a bit of a coin nerd. Nothing too serious, just enough to know a good find when I see one. Seeing “1938” on a Jefferson nickel piqued my interest because I remembered reading that 1938 was the very first year this coin was minted. It replaced the Buffalo nickel that same year.
Even better? Some versions of the 1938 Jefferson have surprisingly low mintages.
I checked the reverse — there was no mintmark beside Monticello, meaning it came from Philadelphia. That alone made it a neat find, but what if it had a “D” or “S”? Those mintmarks, from Denver and San Francisco respectively, were printed in much smaller numbers.
According to the U.S. Mint, the 1938-D had a mintage of just 5.4 million, and the 1938-S? About 4.1 million — tiny numbers by nickel standards.
The Feel of History in Your Hand
What struck me wasn’t just the date or rarity. It was the weight of time this coin had carried. Someone gave this nickel — perhaps without knowing its age — into a donation box in 2025. That coin had lived through World War II, the moon landing, the rise of the internet, and now found its way into a small-town church.
There’s something oddly emotional about handling a coin minted before your grandparents even met.
And that led me to wonder: how many of us pass history between our fingers without even realizing it?
Everyday Coins, Extraordinary Stories
The Jefferson nickel might not seem glamorous. No silver content, no flashy errors. But the 1938 series has its own quiet fame among collectors. The design by artist Felix Schlag was selected after a public competition and remained mostly unchanged until the early 2000s.
While the Philadelphia coins were more common, those first-year issues — especially from Denver and San Francisco — became a favorite starting point for coin folders and hobbyists. Even in circulated condition, these coins hold historical weight, if not major market value.
Websites like PCGS have long listed 1938-D and 1938-S nickels as key semi-keys in the series. That church coin may not have been rare in the sense of thousands of dollars, but it was rare in spirit.
A Humble Coin With a Lasting Impression
After setting it aside, I took the nickel home, cleaned it gently (with nothing more than a dry cloth), and added it to a small collection I keep in a mason jar. Nothing fancy, just coins that made me pause. That 1938 nickel sits there now, next to a wheat penny from 1944 and a Susan B. Anthony dollar I found in a vending machine.
What made that nickel special wasn’t just its mintage or age. It was the reminder that history often hides in plain sight — in our change jars, couch cushions, and yes, even in church donation boxes.
Also Read: My Grandfather’s Toolbox Had a 1960 Small Date Penny Worth Four Figures
Final Reflection
Not everyone will care about a nickel from 1938. To many, it’s just five cents. But for those of us who enjoy the quiet stories of objects long passed from hand to hand, it’s something more.
Next time you drop a coin into a jar, take a moment to look first — you never know what piece of the past you’re holding.
It might just be a low-mintage Jefferson nickel that traveled nearly a century to reach you.