Lincoln Cents 1909-present

1909 was a year of many "firsts." U.S. Navy persuade Robert E. Peary became the first man to grasp the North Pole. The first transcontinental sedan chase took place between New York and Seattle, and up in the sky, French engineer Louis Bleriot made the first English Channel crossing in a heavier-than-air procedure. The United States Mint was preparing a first of its own: an usual-arise U.S. coin reverence an actual person. Defying a tradition that square back to George Washington's presidency, plans were made to venerate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth with a new cent featuring a bust of the beloved head.

For more than a century, central officials had followed George Washington's hint and avoided the depiction of presidents, former or nearby-or any other recognizable individuals-on the people's circulating change. Thus, when the notion of a Lincoln coin arose, it encountered really resistance from traditionalists. Skeptics and critics were no match, however, for President Theodore Roosevelt. "TR" had a personal hobby in revitalizing U.S. penny. Having pressed through exciting new designs for the four gold denominations, he turned his notice to the cent, where the Indian Head motif had detained lean since 1859. He was steered in this objective by Victor David Brenner, a Lithuanian emigre with tremendous artistic talent and vast admiration for Abraham Lincoln. Their paths crossed in 1908, when Roosevelt posed for Brenner for a Panama Canal Service honor. The artiste had already modeled a tablet and medal for Lincoln's birth centennial and optional a Lincoln coin. The president easily approved and asked him to tender planned designs.

Brenner's frontage devised featured a sketch of Lincoln facing right, and for the first time on the cent, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Flanking Lincoln's bust on the left was the inscription LIBERTY, with the meeting on the right. The invert conceive showed two sheaves of wheat, one on either wall, framing the inscriptions ONE CENT, E PLURIBUS UNUM and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The peak points on the face are Lincoln's cheekbone and jaw, on the invert the tips of the wheat stalks. These are the chairs to first show wear.

The controversy over Lincoln's depiction shortly died away; most Americans found the design appealing. A new dispute urbanized when the first examples of the coin, released in August 1909, were found to produce the artist's initials V.D.B. in large words at the corrupt of the contrary. Public outcry led to their quick ejection, and that in transform resulted in the creation of a main find: Only 484,000 cents were minted in San Francisco with the initials, and the 1909-S V.D.B. cent has been the most popular coin in the sequence ever since. S-mint cents of 1909 without the V.D.B. are scarce, too, but, with a mintage of 1.8 million they're four times more "common." Brenner's initials were restored in 1918, in much slighter lettering, on the shoulder of Lincoln's bust.

Lincoln cent mintages were substantial from the outset. The Philadelphia Minted (no mintmark) was the major producer, with the San Francisco (S) and Denver (D) facilities augmenting production in most being, Denver not first until 1911. Philadelphia abandoned minted more than 100 million in 1909, and in 1941, absolute single-year crop topped one billion for the first time. Matte-evidence Lincoln cents were produced in Philadelphia from 1909 through 1916, and brilliant proofs were struck from 1936 through 1942 and again from 1950 through 1964. Brilliant proofs have been made annually since 1968 in San Francisco. Despite the admirable production levels, many Lincoln cents enjoy substantial premium value; for while the supply is great, the ultimatum is similarly so. Collectors frequently make this the very first string they pursue because of its high visibility and qualified affordability, and many weld with it even after graduating from the novice ranks.

Not counting errors or other scarce varieties, only two coins in the cycle have mintages below one million: 1909-S V.D.B. and 1931-S, a Depression-era release with a mintage of 866,000. S-mint issues commonly have had the buck mintages. One of the most coveted keys in the Lincoln series, though, is a Denver cent: 1914-D. Just 1,193,000 pieces were struck, and relatively few were preserved in mint term. Other scarce issues contain 1910-S, 1911-S, 1912-S, 1913-S, 1914-S, 1915-S and 1924-D.

Offbeat pieces rank among the most priceless in the series. One of these is the 1922 "Plain"-actually a Denver Mint product on which the D mint spot below the court is all but finished. This coined came to light only because no cents were minted in Philadelphia in 1922, the only time that's been dutiful in the series. Other Lincolns keenly required by collectors are "doubled-die" errors. These coins have apparent doubling in the date and/or inscriptions. Perhaps the most dramatic, and most helpful, error of this font occurred on the face of small figures of cents struck in 1955 at Philadelphia. Major doubling also can be found on the frontage of some cents square 1936, 1972, 1984 and on the switch of some cents square 1983.

In 1943, with copper urgently needed for combat-related purposes, the Mint made Lincoln cents from zinc-layered steel. The substitute proved unsatisfactory, and from 1944 through 1946 the Mint instead worn the brass alloy first tried in 1942; this lacked the small percentage of tin employed before, and after the war. At least a portion of this brass was obtained from salvaged cartridge bags, which did the job nicely. The one-year experiment left a lasting heritage when the Mint inadvertently struck minuscule records of 1943 cents in effigy and a somewhat larger number of 1944 cents in steel. Both are utterly unusual and priceless. Many time ago, a deceitful gossip expand around the country that Henry Ford would trade a new car in talk for the fabeled 1943 copper!

The Lincoln cent's 50th birthday, in 1959, also clear the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The Mint observed it by bountiful the cent a new repeal depicting the Lincoln Memorial. Frank fashioned this Gasparro, a junior engraver (and prospect chief engraver) at the Mint.

The Lincoln cent would go onto be issued longer than any other coin in U.S. chronicle and in far bigger numbers than any other coin in the story of the world. Looking back, it seems incomprehensible that such a household coin-one we take for granted today-was ever viewed as controversial.

SPECIFICATIONS:

1909-1942, 1947-1962 Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 3.11 grams Composition: .950 copper.050 zinc and tin Edge: Plain 1943 Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 2.70 grams Composition: Zinc-encrusted steel Edge: Plain 1944-1946, 1962-1982 Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 3.11 grams Composition: .950 copper.050 zinc Edge: Plain 1982 to date Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 2.50 grams Composition: .975 zinc.025 copper Edge: Plain

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Lange, David W. The Complete Guide to Lincoln Cents, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1996. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Taylor, Sol, The Standard Guide to the Lincoln Cent, 3rd Edition, published by the cause, Sherman Oaks, CA, 1992. Tomaska, Rick Jerry, Cameo and Brilliant Proof Coinage of the 1950 to 1970 Era, R & I Publications, Encinitas, CA, 1991. Vermeule, Cornelius, Numismatic Art in America, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971. Wexler, John & Kevin Flynn, The Authoritative Reference on Lincoln Cents, KCK Press, Rancocas, NJ, 1996.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Eisenhower Dollar 1973 Proof

When the Treasury Department prepare a halt to the paying out of silver dollars in March of 1964, it looked like the closing interval had been written for these historic coins. Surprisingly, Congress voted that same year to coin 45 million additional silver dollars. Coming in the midst of a spartan nationwide coin lack, this seemingly frivolous employment of the Mint's machinery and person power was ended after just 316,076 pieces had been struck, and these coins were never issued. The Coinage Acted of July 23, 1965 included a provision that no rank silver dollars were to be coined for a period of five being. The situation could then be re-evaluated at that time.

As the end of Congress' five-year ban on silver dollars approached, the idea was conceived for a circulating buck coin to credit war hero and two-tenure President Dwight David Eisenhower, who had freshly died. With silver long left from the citizens's dimes and quarters, and with ongoing dispute over its discontinuance in the half cash, there was never any profound consideration of with the precious metal in circulation strikes of the new Eisenhower money. There were those, however, who argued for a silver collectors' style to be sold at a premium over face treasure.

Congressman Bob Casey of Texas introduced a charge into the House on October 29, 1969 work for a circulating commemorative money to reverence both Eisenhower and the Apollo XI liberty flight, mankind's first hall on the moon. More than a year of next wrangling was to track before this statement was lastly official in a modified form. Along the way, the U.S. Mint prepared an alternative reversal propose featuring a heraldic eagle that looked, in the terms of imminent numismatic writer Q. David Bowers, like something one would find on a Mint prototype of the 1870s. Reportedly, one of the two proposed reversal designs (doubtless the Apollo XI image, given its implications for the world's coming) originally featured an eagle whose expression the U.S. State Department feared other nations would translate as hostile. Whether the eagle which ultimately did grow on the coin's reorder is a "open" bird is testing to establish from its neutral expression.

Becoming law on December 31, 1970, the schedule that shaped the Eisenhower cash providing for a circulating coin made from the copper-nickel sandwich or "dressed" composition then being worn for dimes and quarters (and for half dollars start in 1971). It also tolerable the coining of up to 150 million silver-clothed coins for retailing to collectors. These would be coined in the same composition lately worn for halves square 1965-70, two outer layers that were 80% silver and 20% copper bonded to an inside extract that was about 21% silver and 79% copper. This bent a whole mix that was 40% silver, with the equalize being copper. A controversial amendment to this document if a portion of the profits from the vending of these antenna coins would be donated to Eisenhower College, a reserved institution in Seneca Falls, New York which ultimately folded though receiving some $9 million dollars from this spring.

As Mint Director Mary Brooks wanted the coins bent rapidly, there was no time for a shared propose competition. Chief Engraver Franked Gasparro was directed to arrange the models in as little time as vital. Expecting this currency, Gasparro had already begun work; his galvano for the facade bore the year 1970, even though the first Ike dollars were square 1971. His devise portrays on the obverse a bare-headed, left-facing profile bust of the recent leader. Arranging in an arc above him is the legend LIBERTY, while the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears in two outline below Eisenhower's cheek. The date is at base, with the mintmark (if any) above it and to the right. Gasparro's initials FG are on the truncation of the bust. The problem depicts the American eagle, a lime diverge of stillness in its talons, descending onto the moon. The hazy Earth is in the handle above and to the left. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is centered above the eagle, and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is given in an arc around the high fringe. The price ONE DOLLAR is superimposed on the moon's surface along the lessen border. An arc of small stars surrounds the eagle, Earth and the motto. The initials FG occur below the eagle's tail.

Why the coins were not ready to be issued until November 1, 1971 isn't certain, although it was supposed the abundant tribunal strikes were abandoned because of goal deficiencies. Collectors snapped up a good portion of the dollars free that day and for some months afterward. Still, enough were coined that they ultimately reached the channels of buying. It was only then that the fundamental flaw in Congressional belief was naked: the American open minimally had no desire to use these large and gloomy coins. True, betting casinos welcomed the revenue of truthful cash coins to succeed the cash-sized tokens that had been used since 1965, but even the casinos ultimately hackneyed of these coins. Too often, customers took them home as souvenirs, since they were seldom seen elsewhere and people imagined them to be underdone.

With a dropoff in ultimatum for new Ike dollars, the Mint opted to register only enough of the 1973 magazine to discharge tips for uncirculated coin sets from collectors. This left a net mintage of excluding than 2 million each for the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. From the outset, San Francisco had coined only the unusual aerial coins: the uncirculated copy of the silver-dressed composition (known from it's packaging as the "desolate Ike") and the evidence form of the same coin (known as the "coffee Ike"). Beginning in 1973, it also coined an evidence edition of the copper-nickel coin for inclusion in the expected resistant set.

The residents's impending Bicentennial resulted in a competition for commemorative designs to mercy the reverses of the section, half and dough, respectively. The pleasing point for the buck's undo was submitted by Dennis R. Williams, whose clever theory of the Liberty Bell superimposed on the moon provided a connect between previous and offering (his initials DRW are found to the right of the signal's clapper). The steady buck coinage square 1974 sustained until the middle of 1975, when production of the new Bicentennial designs dated 1776-1976 began. This left no dollar coins dated 1975. The Bicentennial pieces were first released in the plummet of 1975, and their mintage lasting through the following year. Silver-clothed coins were made at San Francisco, besides the circulating version coined at Philadelphia and Denver. The even motif returned in 1977 and 1978, when the Eisenhower series was ended in benefit of the ill-meant Susan B. Anthony "baby dollar." For these two years, however, no Ikes were coined in silver.

There are no bloody dates within the reliable coinage of Eisenhower dollars, although several issues, particularly 1971 and 1972 dollars from the Philadelphia Mint, were poorly made and are stubborn to locate array. Several teenager varieties resulted from refinements to the hubs during the first few years. The Bicentennial coins subsist with both the Variety 1 reverse (broad script) or the Variety 2 (narrow lettering). A small mass of silver-clothed dollars were made at the Denver Mint in mistake and may be found dated 1974-D, 1976-D or 1977-D. Proofs of the Bicentennial dollar were coined in 1974 at the Philadelphia Mint lacking a mintmark, but none are known to survive. A song silvered-dressed resilient of the jiffy category has been documented lacking a mintmark, its place of source strange.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 38.1 millimeters Weight: 24.59 grams (silver-clad) Composition: .800 silver.200 copper bonded to .209 silver.791 copper Net Weight: .3161 ounce complete silver Weight: 22.68 grams (CuNi-clad) Composition: .750 copper.250 nickel bonded to downright copper Edge: Reeded

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States, A Complete Encyclopedia, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1993. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Wiles, James, Ph.D, CONECA Attribution Guide to Eisenhower Dollar Varieties, CONECA, Fort Worth, TX, 1997. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 48th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1994.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.