(plural paradigm shifts) 1  A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new one, necessitated when new scientific discoveries produce anomalies in the current paradigm. ( US) A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new belief.
The use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted. The motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription.
Between 1942 and 1945, the mint stopped using nickel in the Jefferson coins and replaced it with silver. The coins produced were as bright and shiny as silver dimes, quarters and halves! Because these Silver War Nickels were worth more than face value, the Mint put a huge mintmark on each, right above Monticello on the reverse, so they could pull them out of circulation after the war.