Coin Blog

The coin mintages for the fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Cent design was recently released. The "Presidency" design has the lowest overall mintage of the four designs. The 2009-P Presidency Lincoln Cent has the lowest mintage for an individual one-cent issue since the 1950's.

For the Presidency design, there were 129,600,000 coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint and 198,000,000 coins produced at the Denver Mint. This makes a total of 327,600,000 overall coins struck for circulation.

The previous low for combined mintage for one of the designs was the Birthplace Cent with 634,800,000. The previous low for an individual issue of the 2009 Lincoln Cent was the 2009-P Birthplace Cent with 284,400,000. The latest figures represnts significanlty lower numbers.

The last time an individual Lincoln Cent struck for circulation had a lower mintage was 1955, when the San Francisco Mint produced 44,610,000.

The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Cent design will be released by the United States Mint tomorrow. This will conclude the four different designs issued to celebrate Lincoln's bicentennial. The first three designs represented his birthplace and childhood, formative years, and professional life. The latest design represents his Presidency in Washington DC.

The fourth design features a view of the half completed United States Capitol building. It is meant to symbolize a nation torn apart by civil war and Lincoln's resolve in guiding the country through it. This was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Josephn F. Menna.

To mark the event, the US Mint will hold an official launch ceremony at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial followed by a coin exchange. They will also use the event to announce the design for the upcoming 2010 Lincoln Cent, which will represent Lincoln's preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.

The same day, the US Mint will also offer the two roll set for the Presidency design. This set will feature one 50-coin roll from the Philadlephia Mint and one 50-coin roll from the Denver Mint. These will be in custom design wrappers and available for sale at $8.95.

One of the more highly awaited US Mint products will go on sale tomorrow. This is the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set. Ever since the release of the first newly designed 2009 Lincoln Cent, collectors have flocked to the new US Mint's Lincoln related offerings from the Two Roll Sets to the most recently released 2009 Lincoln Proof Set. The latest product will provide some special appeal.

First, it is limited to only 50,000 units. This will make it the lowest production Lincoln-related product from the US Mint this year. The Birthplace Two Roll Set had a production of 96,000 sets and continues to sell at a huge premium. Second, the set contains the 2009 Proof Lincoln Silver Dollar, which has sold out in individual options. The coins currently sell for more than the price of the full Lincoln Coin and Chronicle Set.

Besides the 2009 Lincoln Silver Dollar already mentioned, the sets also contain all four 2009 Proof Lincoln Cents struck in 95% copper, a reproduction of a photograph of Lincoln, a reproduction of the Gettysburg Address, and the obligatory certificate of authenticity. Altogether the set looks well presented and stands as a nice centerpiece to a collection of Lincoln Bicentennial products.

There is sure to be a rush of collectors trying to get the set before it sells out. They go on sale on the US Mint's website tomorrow October 15, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. The sets are priced at $55.95 and limited to only one set per household.

About a week ago, the US Mint started selling a separate Proof Coin Set, which just includes the 2009 Lincoln Cents. This means the four different reverse designs are included featuring the Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, and Presidency.

The sets are priced at $7.95. It looks like the coins are included in the same sort of plastic lens that the 2009 Lincoln Cents have been packaged in for the full 2009 Proof Set. A newly designed outer cardboard box will be used.

This is an interesting offering because it splits up the annual proof set again. The US Mint already sells a separate 2009 Quarters Proof Set for $14.95 and a separate Presidential Dollars Proof Set for $14.95. Incidentally the full proof set is priced at $29.95.

It's also interesting because many enterprising individuals and coin dealers had taken to selling separate 2009 Lincoln Cent Proof Sets already. Before the US Mint began selling the same product, these sets had to be broken out of the full 2009 Proof Sets. The individual Lincoln Cent Proof Sets had been selling for about $15 to $20. Is the US Mint's offering a reaction to these homemade offerings?

The same legislation that brought us the four different designs for the 2009 Lincoln Cent will provide an additional treat for collectors. The US Mint is authorized to produce pennies with the same composition used when the Lincoln Cent series was intially launched in 1909.

These special coins will be produced for numismatic purposes and will be included in the US Mint's annual coin sets. The composition of the Lincoln Cents will be 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc.

Where can you find these Bronze 2009 Lincoln Cents?

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