Collector Pennies

The United States one-cent coin , commonly known as a penny , is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. Its symbol is ¢ . Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of his birth. From 1959 (the sesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth) to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. 2009 will see several designs to honor Lincoln's 200th birthday, while the coin will be re-designed in 2010. The coin is 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) in diameter and 0.061 inches (1.55 mm) in thickness.

The one-cent coin is often called a penny , but the U.S. Mint's official name for this coin is cent and the U.S. Treasury's official name is "one cent piece".

History of composition

Further information: Lincoln cent

The isotope composition of early coins spanning the period of 1828 to 1843 cents reflects that of copper from Cornwall ores from England while coins after 1850 that from the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan ores, a finding consistent with historical records.

In 1943, at the peak of World War II, pennies of zinc-coated steel were made for a short time due to war demands for copper. A few copper pennies from 1943 were produced from the 1942 planchets remaining in the bins. Similarly, some 1944 steel pennies have been confirmed. From 1944 through 1946, salvaged ammunition shells made their way into the minting process, and it was not uncommon to see coins featuring streaks of brass or having a considerably darker finish than other issues.

During the early 1970s, the price of copper rose to a point where the penny almost contained more than one cent's worth of copper. This led the Mint to test alternate metals, including aluminum and bronze-clad steel. Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million of these pennies were struck and ready for public release before ultimately being rejected. The proposed aluminum pennies were rejected due to two factors. Vending machine owners complained the coins would cause mechanical problems. Pediatricians and pediatric radiologists pointed out the radiodensity of the metal inside the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts was close to that of soft tissue and therefore would be difficult to detect in a roentgenogram. One aluminum penny was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.

The penny's composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent. Some 1982 pennies use the 97.5% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition. The price of copper later returned to profitable levels.

Many people can hear the difference between the bronze and copper pennies and the newer, zinc pennies: simply flip the coin, giving it a good, solid strike. The predominantly copper pennies produce a ringing sound in the 12 kHz range. The zinc coins make a noise that is different. In addition, a full 50-penny roll of pre-1982/3 pennies will weigh 5.4 oz. compared to a post 1982/83 roll which will weigh 4.4 oz.

Mintage figures for the Lincoln penny can be found here.

Designs

The coin has gone through several designs over its two-hundred-year time frame. Until 1857 it was about the size of the current U.S. dollar coins (Susan B. Anthony through present dollars).

The following types of pennies have been produced:

Large cents:

• Flowing Hair Chain (1793)
• Flowing Hair Wreath (1793)
• Liberty Cap (1793–1796)
• Draped Bust (1796–1807)
• Classic Head (1808–1814)
• Coronet (1816–1839)
• Braided Hair (1839–1857)

Small cents:

• Flying Eagle (1856–1858)
• Indian Head (1859–1909)
• Lincoln Wheat (1909–1958)
• Lincoln Memorial (1959–2008)
• Lincoln Bicentennial 4 reverse designs (2009)
• Union Shield (2010–)

Throughout its history, the Lincoln penny has featured several fonts for the date, but most of the digits have been old-style numerals, except with the 4 and 8 neither ascending nor descending. The only significant divergence is that the 3 was non-descending (the same size as a 0, 1, or 2) in the early history, before switching to descending for one year in 1934 and then permanently (as of 2004) in 1943.

The Lincoln Memorial is shown on the reverse of the United States penny. In his treatise Theory and Practise of Numismatic Design , Joe Began states that because the Lincoln Memorial is shown in sufficient detail to discern the statue of Lincoln on the reverse of the penny, Abraham Lincoln was the only person to be depicted on both the obverse and reverse of the same United States coin. In 1999, the New Jersey state quarter was released, which depicts George Washington on both sides, crossing the Delaware River on the reverse side and in profile on the obverse.

An additional design detail that is not readily visible to the naked eye, is found on the obverse side of the 1918 onward United States penny. The letters “vdb” stamped on the bottom sleeve of Abraham Lincoln represent the initials of Victor David Brenner, the primary designer of the Wheat cent.

Lincoln cent

The Lincoln cent is the current one cent coin of the US Dollar. It was adopted in 1909, replacing the Indian Head cent. Its obverse, featuring a bust of Abraham Lincoln (to commemorate his centennial), has been in continuous usage. 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, due to metal needs as part of war effort. The obverse is the longest design used for any circulating American design.

History

Obverse design

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. (Even the so-called Indian Head of the Indian Head cent it replaced depicted Liberty as a Native American; the same concept was later used for the Sacagawea dollar since there are no known portraits of Sacagawea.) 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 prejudice.

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 US President, thought American coins were so common and uninspiring that he attempted to get the motto "In God We Trust," removed as offending religion, 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 that it go 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 executed several years earlier and 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. Of interest also is the fact that 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

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