File:1937-Wheat-Penny-Front-Back.jpg|A 1937
wheat cent File:United States penny, obverse, 2002.png|
Cameo proof Lincoln cent,
obverse File:1990-issue US Penny obverse 2.jpg|Obverse side of a cent after 17 years of circulation The Lincoln cent is the current one-cent coin of the U.S. It was adopted in 1909 (which would have been Lincoln's 100th birthday), replacing the
Indian Head cent. Its reverse was changed in 1959 from a wheat-stalks design to a design which includes the
Lincoln Memorial (to commemorate Lincoln's sesquicentennial) and was replaced again in 2009 with four new designs to commemorate Lincoln's bicentennial. There are more one-cent coins produced than any other denomination, which makes the Lincoln cent a familiar item. In its lifespan, this coin has weathered both world wars, one of which temporarily changed its composition as part of the war effort. The obverse design is the longest produced for any circulating American coin.
History of Lincoln cents from 1941 to 1974 in a folder. When the Lincoln one-cent coin made its initial appearance in 1909, it marked a radical departure from the accepted styling of
United States coinage, as it was the first regular coin to bear a portrait other than the mythical
Liberty which appeared on most pre-1909 regular coins. Previously, a strong feeling had prevailed against using portraits on coins in the United States, but public sentiment stemming from the 100th anniversary celebration of
Abraham Lincoln's birth proved stronger than the long-standing tradition. A variety of privately minted tokens bearing Lincoln's image circulated as one-cent pieces during Lincoln's presidency; legitimate coinage had become scarce during the
Civil War. These early tokens undoubtedly influenced the denomination, appearance, size, and composition of Lincoln cents.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, thought American coins were so common and uninspiring that he attempted to get the motto "In God We Trust" removed as offending religion. Roosevelt had the opportunity to pose for a young Lithuanian-born Jew,
Victor David Brenner, who, since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States had become one of the nation's premier medalists. Roosevelt had learned of Brenner's talents in a settlement house on New York City's
Lower East Side and was immediately impressed with a bas-relief that Brenner had made of Lincoln, based on a
Mathew Brady photograph. Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union and the greatest Republican president, and who also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln cent to be based on Brenner's work and to be released just in time to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner created several years earlier which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York. In addition to the prescribed elements on U.S. coins—LIBERTY and the date—the motto
In God We Trust appeared for the first time on a coin of this denomination. The
United States Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1865, authorizing the use of this motto on U.S. coins, during Lincoln's tenure in office. Even though no legislation was required for the new design, approval of the
Secretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change.
Franklin MacVeagh gave his approval on July 14, 1909, and not quite three weeks later, on August 2, the new coin was released to the public.
Wheat cent (1909–1958) A study of three potential reverses resulted in the approval of a very simple design bearing two
wheatheads in memorial style. Between these, in the center of the coin, are the denomination and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, while curving around the upper border is the national motto,
E Pluribus Unum,
Latin for "Out of Many, One". The original model bore Brenner's name on the reverse, curving along the rim below UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Before the coins were issued, however, the initials "VDB" were substituted because officials at the
United States Mint felt the name was too prominent. After the coin was released, many protested that even the initials were conspicuous and detracted from the design. Because the coin was in great demand, and because to make a change would have required halting production, the decision was made to eliminate the initials entirely. In 1918, after the controversy over Brenner's name and initials on the reverse had died down, his initials were placed on the obverse with no further controversy. They are to be found in minute form on the rim of the bust, just under the shoulder of Lincoln. Thus, in 1909, the U.S. had six different cents: the 1909 and 1909-S
Indian Head cents, and four Lincoln coins: 1909
VDB, 1909-S VDB, 1909 and 1909-S. In all cases, the
Philadelphia mintages far exceeded the
San Francisco issues. While the smallest mintage is the '09-S Indian, the '09-S VDB is the key Lincoln date, and hence is most valuable. Its mintage of 484,000 is only 1.7% of the plain V.D.B.
Lincoln Memorial cent (1959–2008) 's
Abraham Lincoln statue inside the
Lincoln Memorial On February 12, 1959, a revised reverse design was introduced as part of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. No formal competition was held.
Frank Gasparro, then Assistant Engraver at the
Philadelphia Mint, prepared the winning entry, selected from a group of 23 models that the engraving staff at the Mint had been asked to present for consideration. Again, only the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change because the design had been in use for more than the required 25 years. The imposing marble
Lincoln Memorial provides the central motif, with the legends
E Pluribus Unum and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA completing the design, together with the denomination. The initials "FG" appear on the right, near the shrubbery. This series is noteworthy for having the image of
Abraham Lincoln both on the obverse and reverse, as his likeness can be discerned in the depiction of
Daniel Chester French's
Abraham Lincoln statue at the center of the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse.
Lincoln Bicentennial cents (2009) The
Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 required that the cent's reverse be redesigned in 2009. This resulted in the mintage of four different coins showing scenes from Abraham Lincoln's life in honor of the
bicentennial of his birth. These four designs, unveiled September 22, 2008, at a ceremony held at the
Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C., are: • Birth and early childhood in
Kentucky: this design features a
log cabin and Lincoln's birth year 1809. It was designed by
Richard Alan Masters and sculpted by Jim Licaretz. This cent was released into circulation on Lincoln's 200th birthday, February 12, 2009, at a special ceremony at
LaRue County High School in
Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln's birthplace. The mintage was extremely low compared to prior years (see
Lincoln cent mintage figures). It has been nicknamed the "Log Cabin Penny". • Formative years in
Indiana: this design features a young Lincoln reading while taking a break from rail splitting. It was designed and sculpted by Charles Vickers. Nicknamed the "Indiana Penny", it was released on May 14, 2009. • Professional life in
Illinois: this design features a young professional Lincoln standing before the
Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield. It was designed by
Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by
Don Everhart. Nicknamed the "Illinois Penny", it was released on August 13, 2009. Those struck for circulation retained the normal composition of a zinc core coated with copper.
Union Shield cent (2010–present) The 2005 act that authorized the redesign for the Bicentennial stated that another redesigned reverse for the Lincoln cent will be minted which "shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln's preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country". Eighteen designs were proposed for the reverse of the 2010 cent. On April 16, 2009, the
Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) met and selected a design that showed 13 wheat sheaves bound together with a ring symbolizing American unity as one nation. Later this design was withdrawn because it was similar to coinage issued in Germany in the 1920s. The
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee later met and chose a design showing a Union shield with superimposed in a scroll;
E Pluribus Unum was also depicted in the upper portion of the shield. As a part of the release ceremony for the last of the 2009 cents on November 12, the design for the 2010 cent was announced. The design chosen was the one that was chosen earlier by the CCAC. The Mint also noted that a shield was commonly used in paintings in the Capitol hallways painted by
Constantino Brumidi, an artist in the Capitol active during the Lincoln Presidency. The new Union Shield design replaces the Lincoln Memorial in use since 1959. In January 2010, the coins were released early in
Puerto Rico; this was caused by a shortage of 2009-dated pennies on the island. In 2017, cents minted in Philadelphia were struck with a "P" mintmark to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Mint. 2017 is the only year that Philadelphia cents have had a mintmark. In 2019, the
West Point Mint minted pennies marked with a "W" mintmark for the first time, which were only available with their annual sets, wrapped separately in their own plastic wrap. An uncirculated cent was included with the uncirculated mint set, a proof cent with the proof set, and a reverse proof with the silver proof set. Following the 2025 halt to circulating penny production, the Mint and Stack's Bowers Galleries conducted a joint auction of 232 sets of commemorative "Omega Pennies". The three-coin sets featured traditional zinc cents struck at both the Philadelphia and Denver Mints with an "
Ω" privy mark, as well as a 24-karat gold cent struck at Philadelphia, the first time the coin has been produced in gold. The sets sold for $50,000–80,000 each, with the set of the final coins struck and their
dies sold for $800,000. ==Manufacturing costs and debate over elimination==