The New Lincoln Penny!
The Lincoln penny has gone through a few changes over the years, and now it looks like there is another change on the horizon for this coin.
The Lincoln cent was first introduced in 1909 when it replaced the Indian head cent. The Lincoln penny was initially created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
Now, with the year 2009 and Lincoln's 200th anniversary approaching, it appears that there are big changes in store for the Lincoln penny. That's right, the penny you know today may soon be gone forever.
How The Penny Has Changed...
The obverse of the Lincoln penny has remained unchanged since 1909, but the reverse was changed in 1959 from the wheat stalks (wheat pennies) to the Lincoln Memorial design.
A little before that in 1943, it was the time of the second World War and metals such as copper were in short supply for the war. So the 1943 penny was made out of steel that year. That was the only year the steel cents were ever minted, as the copper ones returned in 1944.
The composition remained unchanged from then on until 1982 when the price of copper started to rise, making the metal in the coin worth more than its face value.
So in 1982, pennies went from 95% copper to 99.2% zinc and only .8% copper (copper plated).
What Will The New Lincoln Penny Be Like?
In 2009, the U.S. Mint is planning to bring back the original composition of 95% copper to Lincoln cents in order to commemorate President Lincoln's 200th anniversary. These pennies will be sold as collector coins.
The front of the coin will remain the familiar portrait of Lincoln, but the reverse will be changed dramatically. There will be 4 different depictions for the reverse side of the coin that will be placed into circulation. Each will commemorate an important time in Abraham Lincoln's life:
- Lincoln's birth and early childhood in Kentucky
- Lincoln's formative years in Indiana
- Lincoln's professional life in Illinois
- Lincoln's presidency in Washington D.C.
For years, there has been speculation about the 4 designs that will be included on the new Lincoln penny in 2009. Recently, the U.S. Mint narrowed its choices for the designs that will appear on the new Lincoln cent.
You can view many of the proposed designs here.
The Future Of The Lincoln Penny
So what will happen to the penny as we know it in 2010?
Well, after 2009, the reverse of the Lincoln cent will again be changed to a design that is yet to be determined. After the penny's design is changed in 2010, it will most likely remain unchanged for many, many years to come -- or until the penny is removed from circulation for good.
There has actually been some controversy on that issue -- as to whether or not to even keep the one cent coin around -- because it is becoming very costly to keep minting it every year.
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