Why Is Lincoln on the Penny?

One of the most beloved presidents in United States history, Abraham Lincoln became the first real person, living or dead, to be featured on a circulated United States coin. Though many other coins have gone through design changes over the years, the Lincoln penny has been a mainstay of American coinage.

Previous Penny Designs

All previous designs of United States one-cent coins featured artist renditions of Lady Liberty or other designs. The two penny designs immediately preceding the Lincoln cent were the Flying Eagle cent, which was minted from 1856 until 1858, and the Indian Head cent, minted from 1859 until midway through 1909. Because the latter was not based on an individual person, no United States coin had yet to feature a portrait of a real person, living or dead.

Lincoln's 100th Birthday

In 1909, Americans celebrated the 100th birthday of President Lincoln. Public sentiment was that something needed to be done to commemorate this event. President Theodore Roosevelt had recently instructed a well-known sculptor named Augustus Saint-Gaudens to begin redesigning all the United States coins. But, Saint-Gaudens died before completing the project, and President Roosevelt had to find a new designer.

Victor David Brenner

Victor David Brenner was an American who had sculpted a bronze plaque of Lincoln. When Roosevelt saw this plaque, he decided he wanted Brenner to create a similar design for the new penny. When this new penny design was complete, the Lincoln penny was minted and began circulating in August 1909.

Popularity and Longevity

The Lincoln penny is the longest-lasting coin design in American history and remains one of the most popular coins to collect. It has had some changes to the reverse design, beginning with the wheat ears design, followed by the Lincoln Memorial design in 1959, and then followed by four new designs in 2009 and another to come in 2010. The obverse design of Victor David Brenner's portrait of Lincoln has remained the same for over 100 years.

Lincoln's 200th Birthday

To commemorate Lincoln's 200th birthday in 2009, the United States Mint released the Lincoln penny with four different reverse designs: the log cabin to represent Lincoln's birth, the rail splitter to represent his formative years, the Illinois penny to represent Lincoln's professional years, and the Washington, D.C., penny to represent his presidency.

References

• U.S. Treasury - Fact Sheet on the History of the Lincoln Cent
• Lincoln Head Penny