World

Four New Pennies Debut February 12 the Birth Date of Abe Lincoln

by harringtola | February 12, 2009 at 09:10 pm

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For 100 years (since 1909) we have enjoyed what is referred to as "The Lincoln Penny". Now we will have 5 to enjoy in all. Children and adults worldwide have collected them, carefully examining them in search of the occasional rare one, such as the 1943 copper-alloy cent . The penny has changed much over the years in terms of what is on the inside (from copper to bronze,with some tin and zinc and then nickel and also for a short time zinc coated steel) from 1793 to current day, but for a very long time (100 years) not much has changed on the outside.

While the coin will continue to depict Lincoln's likeness on the front, the reverse side will bear one of four new designs, the Mint said.

The coin released into circulation today, Thursday Feb. 12, 2009 is in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the 16th president of the United States of America, and will feature a log cabin, representing the one-room house where Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, Ky. The release of this first coin is a part of the bicentennial celebration, held Thursday at the National Park Service's Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, in Hodgenville.

.... with the others following in three-month intervals..

the Kentucky log cabin of his birth, his youth working as an Indiana rail splitter, his service at the State Capitol in Illinois, and his effort to preserve the union during the Civil War as depicted by a half-finished image of the U.S. Capitol dome.

A Commemorative Lincoln Silver Dollar will also be released in 2009.