President Lincoln turns 200!

In 2009, the United States Mint issued four different one cent coins in recognition of the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the first issuance of the Lincoln cent.

While the obverse (heads) continued to bear the familiar likeness of President Lincoln, the 2009 reverse (tails) reflects four different designs, each one representing a different aspect, or theme, of the life of President Lincoln. The one cent reverse designs were issued at approximately three-month intervals throughout 2009.

Reverse #1:  Log Cabin-Birth and early childhood in Kentucky (1809-1816)

Reverse #2:  Abe Reading-Formative years in Indiana (1816-1830)

Reverse #3:  Abe the Lawyer-Professional Life in Illinois (1830-1861)

Reverse #4:  U.S. Capitol-Presidency in Washington, DC (1861-1865)

The Lincoln cent was first issued in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Fifty years later, in 1959, the reverse of the cent was redesigned with the Lincoln Memorial.

Since the 2009 One Cent Program, the reverse of the coin has featured the Union Shield, representative of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of American as a single and united country.

Source: Information from the U.S. Mint website (www.usmint.gov)

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