Ogden, Utah · Est. 1972
The Big Nickel
Northern Utah's original free-distribution classifieds — where neighbors have connected, traded, and built community since 1972.
1972
Founded in Ogden, Utah
50K+
Weekly copies distributed
4
Counties served
50+
Years of community trust
The Origin Story
A Nickel's Worth of Vision
In 1972, a Weber County entrepreneur named Daniel Murphy had a straight forward idea: give every household in Ogden a free publication filled with local classified ads. No subscription fees. No barriers. Just neighbors connecting with neighbors over the things they wanted to buy, sell, and trade.
He called it The Big Nickel — a name that captured the spirit of the publication perfectly. Like the coin itself, it was unpretentious, accessible, and worth far more than its face value to the community it served.
Murphy understood something that many publishers missed: in a city like Ogden, nestled between the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake, community wasn't just a marketing word. It was the actual fabric of daily life. The Big Nickel became the thread that wove that fabric tighter.
The City Behind the Paper
Ogden, Utah — Junction City
Ogden has always been a city of connectors. As the historic railroad junction where the transcontinental lines met, it earned the motto "You can't get anywhere without coming to Ogden." That same spirit of connection ran through every page of The Big Nickel.
In the 1970s, Ogden was a working city of roughly 70,000 people — families rooted in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains, with a strong tradition of self-reliance and community commerce. Yard sales, swap meets, and word-of-mouth deals were the lifeblood of the local economy.
The Big Nickel gave that informal economy a home. It was the place you turned to when you needed a used truck, a bedroom set, a horse trailer, or a part-time job. It was Ogden's original marketplace — long before the internet made the concept seem new.
A Decade of Growth
The Big Nickel Story
A Nickel's Worth of Ideas
Daniel Murphy, a Weber County entrepreneur with ink in his veins, launched The Big Nickel as a free-distribution classified-ad shopper in Ogden, Utah. The concept was simple: give every household a no-cost publication packed with local buy-sell-trade listings. The name was a nod to the five-cent coin — affordable, unpretentious, and worth every penny.
Northern Utah Takes Notice
Within two years, The Big Nickel had become the go-to marketplace for Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Readers spread the paper across kitchen tables from Brigham City to Clearfield. Advertisers discovered that a small classified ad in The Big Nickel moved merchandise faster than a yard-sale sign ever could.
Expanding the Reach
Murphy invested in a larger press run and expanded distribution routes, pushing The Big Nickel into Morgan County and the Ogden Valley communities of Huntsville and Eden. The publication grew to dozens of pages each week, covering everything from farm equipment and vehicles to furniture, pets, and real estate.
The Classifieds Capital of Northern Utah
By the late 1970s, The Big Nickel had earned an unofficial title: the classifieds capital of northern Utah. Tens of thousands of copies circulated weekly. Readers trusted it. Sellers swore by it. Local businesses ran display ads alongside the classifieds, and the publication became a community institution as recognizable as the Wasatch peaks on the horizon.
A Legacy Cemented
As Ogden entered a new decade, The Big Nickel stood as proof that a community-first publication could thrive on nothing more than trust, local commerce, and the simple idea that neighbors should be able to find each other. Murphy's vision had grown from a single-sheet shopper into a multi-section weekly that defined how northern Utahns bought and sold.
The Founder
Daniel Murphy
Daniel Murphy was the kind of entrepreneur that northern Utah produced in the 1970s — practical, community-minded, and unafraid of hard work. He saw a gap in the local media landscape and filled it with something that felt less like a business and more like a public service.
Murphy grew The Big Nickel from a single-sheet shopper into a multi-section weekly publication that reached tens of thousands of households across Weber, Davis, Box Elder, and Morgan counties. He built distribution networks, cultivated advertiser relationships, and — most importantly — earned the trust of readers who came to rely on the paper as an essential part of their week.
His philosophy was simple: keep it free, keep it local, and keep it honest. That philosophy outlasted the print era and lives on in the digital marketplace that carries The Big Nickel name today.
Then & Now
The Same Values, A New Platform
The Big Nickel has evolved from newsprint to pixels, but the mission Daniel Murphy set in 1972 has not changed a bit.
Community First
Every listing, every transaction, every connection on The Big Nickel is rooted in the same northern Utah community that Murphy served from day one. We are local by design.
Free to List
Murphy gave the paper away for free. We give listings away for free. The Big Nickel has always believed that access to the marketplace should not cost you anything to get started.
Built for the Wasatch Front
From Brigham City to Clearfield, from the Ogden Valley to Morgan County — The Big Nickel was built for the people who live and work in the shadow of these mountains.
Ogden, Utah
Junction City, USA
Where the transcontinental railroad met, where the Wasatch meets the valley, and where The Big Nickel has connected buyers and sellers for over 50 years.
Be Part of the Story
Daniel Murphy started The Big Nickel so neighbors could find each other. That is still exactly what we do. Post your listing today — it is free.