While the country’s pennies celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday in 2009, Congress was working on a design to replace the cent’s reverse motif once the party was over. It required the artwork to be “emblematic of President Lincoln's preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.”
Back to Wheat?
The Commission on Fine Arts, established in 1910 to oversee the design of all construction in the District of Colombia (and extended to coin design in 1921), pored over 18 reverse design submissions, ultimately suggesting one with thirteen sheaves of wheat representing the original states bound by a ring symbolizing the nation’s unity. It was rejected as being too reminiscent of a German coin of the 1920s. Their second choice was a modern representation of the American flag.
Design by Committee
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, established in 2002, recommended a design with a Union Shield as its central element. The shield has thirteen vertical stripes representing the original states topped by a horizontal bar inscribed with the motto E Pluribus Unum to signify the union of all states under the federal government. This theme was ultimately chosen for the new coin. The final product was designed by artist Lyndall Bass and sculpted by US Mint sculptor-engraver Joseph Menna. The simple design includes a scroll across the shield inscribed with “One Cent” and “United States of America” curving above the shield at the coin’s top edge. The designer’s and sculptor’s initials are below the scroll.
Early Release
Originally scheduled for a February debut, the first batch of Union Shield cents were released in January 2010 in Puerto Rico due to a coin shortage on the island. The official release occurred on February 11, 2010 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois as initially planned.
A Quiet Classic?
In January 2017 the Philadelphia Mint released Lincoln Union Shield cents with a P mintmark to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Mint. Bags were shipped out to Federal Reserve Banks with no announcement of the departure from tradition. According to a Mint spokesperson, the idea of adding the mintmark came from employees at the Philadelphia Mint and the coins were released without fanfare to see how long it would take the public to notice. Who says mint workers don’t have a sense of humor?
Well, notice they did, and it caused a minor stir among numismatists until the Mint authenticated the coins, the only US cents to ever bear a Philadelphia mintmark.
Billions of the coins were made, but uncirculated 2017 sets from the US Mint included the Philadelphia coins and a secondary market has developed for uncirculated samples since the P mintmark has disappeared once again for the Philly pennies.
Collecting Lincoln Union Shield Cents
Mint State and Proof Union Shield cents are affordable and readily available. They, along with the earlier Lincoln Bicentennial cents, are an excellent way to start a coin collection that can grow into a fascinating (and often profitable) hobby.
This concludes our series on collecting Lincoln cents. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and look forward to many more articles on the fascinating world of coin collecting.
