Is The Jefferson Nickel Going To Be Discontinued Any Time Soon?

I may not like it, but you may be right. I live under the assumption that nothing will change until coins become obsolete altogether.

Ideally they become NCLT/NIFC like the half dollar has been (with a few exception) since 2002. And if the cent is NIFC, no reason to mess with zinc! Make them bronze like they did for the NIFC cents in 2009.

The strike quality of modern US coins is dismal. Look at a 2021 Washington quarter obverse and compare it with what is supposedly the exact same design on a 1965-dated clad specimen. It's not the change from silver to the much tougher copper-nickel, because you can see the same loss of depth of strike on the Jefferson nickel up to the point of the design change. I infer, not only that striking pressures may be less than formerly, but also that the depth of relief of the dies has been lowered to allow for higher production rates.

If the new Jefferson portrait were struck with the same depth as a specimen from the early years of issue, or even as recently as 1980, it would look very attractive even after decades of circulation wear. In fact I half wonder if the reason behind all the variations (State quarters, et cetera) in the current coinage is to convince people to pick coins out before they get worn enough to show how bad they really look.

Now that I am looking carefully at modern coins, I have to agree about poor strike quality. Many State Quarters had severely deteriorated obverse dies, resulting in faded and shallow strikes. Compared to ordinary Washington quarter strikes, the State Quarters (and subsequent issues) have been lower quality. The newest quarter designs will not stand the test of time, as they have gone to pop culture graphics, incuse text, and really indistinct designs. Our classic coins will still be regarded as beautiful 200 years from now.

I thought the Louisiana Purchase nickels had beautiful reverse designs. The obverse is ugly. The new Jefferson obverse doesn't bother me so much. I do like seeing the super sharp strike quality on the reverse. So at least the mint got that right.