DANIEL WEBSTER | Coins Saying goodbye for now to the Jefferson nickel

The Jefferson nickel is dead. Long live the Jefferson nickel.
So goes the chant of collectors who stand on the threshhold of one of the most far-reaching changes in modern U.S. coinage. The Jefferson nickel, as we have known it since 1938, is no longer in production. The 2004 nickel will celebrate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition with a variety of new designs before the revised Jefferson nickel returns in 2005.
The new nickels will portray the explorers' boats, clasped hands from an Indian peace medal of the time, a new Jefferson portrait and other designs still under study.
Is that an invitation to study the Jefferson nickel to find die variations, design changes and metal differences, or what?
Honoring DNA
A year past Queen Elizabeth's golden jubilee, the British Royal Mint has struck a 2-pound crown marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery by Francis Crick and James Watson of the helix form of DNA. The new coin will be the centerpiece of the 2003 British proof set, replacing the former golden jubilee crown.
Two colors are used on the DNA proof. A spiraling double helix, with the four letter groups representing the building blocks, appear on the reverse. John Mills designed it.
It may be the first coin to carry an edge inscription more mysterious to many collectors than Sanskrit: "Deoxyribonucleic Acid." (That's DNA, folks.)
The proof set also includes a new 50-cent coin that honors suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst. Mary Milner Dickens designed the coin.
The executive proof set sells for $99.95, the deluxe set for $71.95. The standard proof set sells for $49.95. Individual coins can also be bought.
Queries go to the British Royal Mint, 14101 Southcross Dr. West, Burnsville, Minn. 55337, or to www.royalmint.com.
XDaniel Webster is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.