I got one of the new nickels today

that commemorate the Louisiana Purchase. On the back it shows two clasped hands and above them are crossed what looks like an axe and either a hockey stick or a golf club. Is that the best logo they could come up with? And would someone please explain what it symbolizes?

That's what I seemed to remember.

They've been out for some time, but they seem to be more popular than the state quarters. I have twenty BU (brilliant, uncirculated) rolls of them, but I've only seen one in "real life."

Another new nickel will come out this fall.

I hope they go back to Monticello eventually.

There is a new one coming out this fall. From what I read, they have at least two new designs planned.

The Louisiana Purchase. The reverse is a replica of the "Peace Medal" Jefferson once gave out. It's not a black hand, it's a Native American hand. It's not a hockey stick, it's a tomahawk.

Lewis and Clark gave these coins to tribes they met.

Here is the Reverse



The Obverse was a bust of Thomas Jefferson.

The Louisiana Purchase

Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had a vision of a renewed western empire for France, and his schemes included the recapture of Louisiana from Spain. Control over this vast territory would halt the westward expansion of the young United States and would supply French colonies in the West Indies with the goods they needed. In 1800, Napoleon signed the secret Treaty of Ildefonso with Spain, an agreement that stipulated that France would provide Spain with a kingdom for the son-in-law of Spain's king if Spain would return Louisiana to France. However, Napoleon's plan collapsed when the twelve-year revolt of slaves and free blacks in the French colony of Saint-Domingue succeeded, forcing French troops to return defeated to France and preventing them from reaching their ultimate destination--Louisiana--and from being able to defend it. As Napoleon's New World empire disintegrated, the loss of Haiti made Louisiana unnecessary.

more:
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab4.htm