By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – A new coin commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase will be introduced next week in St. Louis.
Two new nickels will be released this year. One will feature a pair of clasped hands symbolizing the meeting of American explorers and native tribes.
The other will show the Lewis and Clark expedition keelboat. Each will retain the image of Thomas Jefferson.
U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore says the first new nickel will be available in St. Louis March 14.
"For the rest of America, it will take several weeks," Fore said. "So anyone who can show up in St. Louis will have a chance to get the new nickels."
The coins are the first newly-designed nickels produced in the United States since 1938.