Jefferson's portret based on the marble bust of Jefferson by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, completed in 1789. The design was made age-appropriate to his presidency by utilizing later paintings by Gilbert Stuart and 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. The new obverse image of President Jefferson replaces the image of President Jefferson that had been on the nickel since 1938.

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: Joe Fitzgerald (JF)
Engraver: Don Everhart (DE)

A scene of the Pacific Ocean with pine trees (the goal that the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached after more than a year of hard travel) and an inscription reflecting an excited entry in the journal of Captain William Clark on November 7, 1805: : "Ocean in view! O! The joy!", which was written by William Clark into his journal ("ocean" was actually spelled "ocian" in his journal, but the US Mint used more modern spelling in this case). A design based on a photograph by Andrew E. Cier of Astoria, Oregon, of the western waters as they might have been first viewed by the Corps of Discovery.

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.

Designer: Joe Fitzgerald (JF)
Engraver: Donna Weaver (DW)