THE JEFFERSON PEACE MEDAL

During 2003 there was considerable speculation among collectors as to how the Treasury would use the 5-cent piece (nickel) to honor the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The original choice of the nickel to carry this historic message was easily made as it was President Thomas Jefferson who had sent the exploring party on its way to the Pacific Ocean.

The first Treasury decision was to keep the obverse of the nickel intact but to use an appropriate reverse. For the back side of the coin, there were two main ideas floating around: one design featured the explorers in a boat going upriver while the other used a motif from the famous Jefferson Indian Peace Medal, which featured clasped hands symbolizing friendship between the Native American tribes and the United States.

In an unexpected decision, the Treasury chose to use both concepts. (Even more surprising, the theme was repeated in 2005 with a bison and view of the ocean.) The boat scene is, in a sense, generic as it could represent virtually any exploring party using a river, but the Indian Peace design actually dates from before the time of the expedition.

In the disputed election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson won the presidency and was inaugurated on March 4, 1801, in Washington, the first president