A forward-facing Jefferson based on an 1800 study by Rembrandt Peale. The word "Liberty" appears in script on the obverse above the date, and the legend "IN GOD WE TRUST" appears along the outer edge on the right side. The word "Liberty" was taken from Jefferson's handwritten draft for the Declaration of Independence, though to achieve a capital L, Joe Fitzgerald had to obtain one from other documents written by Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). During his first term as President, Thomas Jefferson virtually doubled the size of the United States when his Administration successfully completed the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and commissioned the Lewis & Clark Expedition to explore the new territory.

Designer: Jamie Franki (JNF)
Engraver: Donna Weaver (DW)

A front elevation view of Jefferson’s home, with the name MONTICELLO beneath it. Around the border are the legends E PLURIBUS UNUM above and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA below. Beneath MONTICELLO is the value FIVE CENTS.

Monticello was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, who began designing and building Monticello at age 26 after inheriting land from his father. Located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, in the Piedmont region, the plantation was originally 5,000 acres (20 km2). Monticello also appeared on the reverse of the two-dollar bill from 1928 to 1966, when the bill was discontinued.

E Pluribus Unum — Latin for "Out of many, one" — is a phrase on the Seal of the United States. Never codified by law, E Pluribus Unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.

The reverse beginning in 2006 was again Felix Schlag's Monticello design, but newly sharpened by the US Mint engravers. As Schlag's obverse design, on which his initials were placed in 1966, is no longer used, his initials FS were placed on the reverse to the right of Monticello.