WASHINGTON - There's change in store for Thomas Jefferson - on the nickel, that is. He's getting his first makeover since his likeness was put on the coin in 1938.

The makers of the nation's coins, the U.S. Mint, was unveiling designs today for two new nickels. It's the latest in a series of design changes for the coins to honor two important events in U.S. history: the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The revamped nickels will be issued in 2005.

A new likeness of Jefferson, the third president, will be on the front of the two revised coins, while the "tails" side of will also get a new look.

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 5-cent piece in August.

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

The design of the old 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.

Separately, a colorful new $50 bill with touches of red, blue and yellow will start showing up in banks, cash registers and wallets later this month. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which makes U.S. paper currency, says the new bill will go into circulation Sept. 28.