Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 4, 2013

The nickel is a five-cent coin issued since 1866 by the United States Mint, composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The silver half dime, also equal to five cents, was first issued in the 1790s. The economic upset of the American Civil War drove gold and silver from circulation, and the government at first issued paper currency in place of low-value coins. As two-cent (in 1864) and three-cent pieces (1865) without precious metal content had been successfully introduced, Congress authorized a five-cent piece of base metal; the Mint began striking this in 1866. The Shield nickel, the initial design, was struck until 1883, when it was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel. As part of a drive to increase the beauty of American coinage, the Buffalo nickel (shown) was introduced in 1913; it was followed by the Jefferson nickel in 1938. After using special designs for the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 2004 and 2005, the Mint reverted to using Jefferson nickel designer Felix Schlag's original reverse (or "tails" side), although substituting a new obverse. As of 2013, it costs more than eleven cents to produce a nickel; the Mint is investigating using less expensive metals.

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