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Thomas Jefferson is shown gazing off the redesigned nickel, symbolizing his "vision to explore the Great West," said United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore at Thursday's unveiling of two nickels to be released next year.

The change for the nation's third president is the first since his likeness was put on the five-cent coin in 1938.

U.S. Mint
The new nickels honor the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. The front will be Jefferson; the "tails" side will have the bottom two images.

With the makeover, Jefferson's image appears bolder. He gazes in a close-up profile from the side of the coin. The word "liberty" now appears in script — as Jefferson once had written in his own hand. The phrase "In God We Trust" remains on the front of the two coins, as well as the year.

The design changes for the coins honor two important events in U.S. history: the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The reverse or "tails" side of one of the new nickels features an American bison on a grassy patch, a design reminiscent of the buffalo nickel first issued in 1913. The words "United States of America" wrap around the top of the coin, above the bison's image. The phrase "E Pluribus Unum" is below the bison as is "Five Cents."

That nickel will be circulated early next year.

The tails side of the second new nickel features a view of the Pacific Ocean from a rocky coastline dotted with trees. There's the phrase "Ocean in view! O! The joy!" That's a quote from explorer William Clark's journal, a reference to the Lewis and Clark expedition's quest to reach the Pacific.

That nickel will be issued in late summer next year. In a circle around the edge of the nickel are the phrases: "E Pluribus Unum," "United States of America," "Five Cents," and "Lewis & Clark 1805" — the year the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean.

The designs, Fore said, "will place us at those spellbinding moments when Lewis and Clark first encountered a grazing American bison and later the vastness of the western waters."

Jefferson was the force behind the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific coast and back. He also was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, which at the time doubled the size of the United States.

The new nickels are part of the Mint's Westward Journey Nickel series, which began earlier this year. In March, the so-called Peace Medal nickel went into circulation, followed by the Keelboat five-cent piece in August.

Those were the first two nickels under the new series. Those nickels, however, kept the image of Jefferson unchanged on the front, while featuring new designs on the back.

The design of older nickels — a centered profile of Jefferson on the front — and his Virginia home, Monticello, on the back — was introduced in 1938.

A 2003 law authorized the nickel's makeover. In 2006, an image of Monticello will return to the back of the five-cent piece and a likeness of Jefferson will be carried on the front.

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In 2006, an image of Monticello will return to the back of the five-cent piece and a likeness of Jefferson will be carried on the front.

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