The motivation
Before we get to history, let ’ s brood a piece on the motivation driving the origin of Lincoln pennies in the first space. Believe it or not, the custom of an actual person ‘s double, whether alive or deceased, on a circulating coin in America was deemed tasteless. It was seen as a form of excommunication by the widely divers nature of american inheritance .
As a ensnare of reference, the only one to ever be displayed on U.S. coinage was Lady Liberty, and she was a personification of a symbol, not an actual human. Despite that, the icon of President Abraham Lincoln was already largely beloved at the turn of the twentieth century, and the notion to feature Lincoln ‘s double on the american penny was conceived when President Roosevelt saw Lincoln ’ s sculptor, Victor David Brenner ‘s bronze plaque.
The Choice Of Artist
For both the U.S. Mint employees and artist Brenner, the Lincoln penny plan process was slightly catchy. Charles Barber, the U.S. Mint Chief Engraver, was loath for different reasons to collaborate with artists who haven ’ thymine worked on coins before. Since Brenner had only produced medals and never designed any coins for mass circulation, it took respective plan changes before the desire consequence was met. Brenner wanted a complex mint, but Barber needed a feasible expressive style that would n’t wear the coin but would inactive be good for both sides of the coin. ultimately, it was determined to lower the orientation of the Lincoln torso so that his face appeared more towards the center of the mint. This move provided a big deal of room at the top of the coin .
The history
The Lincoln Cent was minted in 1909 and it is one of the survive resist coin designs ever made by the U.S. Mint at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. Their mint marks are on the obverse of the mint below the date. however, all coins made at Philadelphia Mint did not feature a mint punctuate. Throughout history, the obverse has remained the same, while the change by reversal varied from 1958 to 1989. In 2009, the penny reached its hundredth anniversary. To commemorate this, the U.S. government authorized four extra anniversary editions of the Lincoln Wheat Penny made.
From Copper to… Zinc
Over the years, the composition of the Lincoln Penny has besides changed. initially, from 1909 to 1981, the Lincoln Penny was made chiefly of bull. In the class 1943, an interesting thing happened. Due to the overpowering outbreak of expenses during WWII, the U.S. government authorized the U.S. Mint to manufacture coins out of sword, producing a coin in 1943 with a silver-colored shade. The samara dates in the Lincoln Wheat Penny series include the 1909 S, 1909 S VDB, 1914 D, 1922 plain, and 1931 S. Furthermore, in 1982, the cent changed to its current composition of by and large zinc, due to the bull crisis .
Intriguing Facts
- The first class the penny was minted, the couturier decided to put his initials on the back of the mint near the rim VDB. He, however, was not authorized to do so. consequently, the design was altered halfway through production. This created the rarest coin ever made in the Lincoln Penny series, a 1909 S VDB .
- The coins were made of recycle shell cases between 1944 and 1946, whose bronze constitution was about similar to the initial issues, excluding canister .
Undoubtedly, the Lincoln Wheat Pennies are of the most iconic and impactful coins that were ever made in U.S. history. They are widely admired and constantly wanted by collectors and numismatics alike. At The Franklin Mint, we feature a desirable diverseness of Lincoln penny collections and products, found entirely at our web site .
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