16th President

United States of America

(1861 - 1865)

As the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is remembered for uniting the nation during the American Civil War.

With its very first issue in 1909, the Lincoln Cent is the longest-running coin design ever struck by the U.S. Mint. The origins of the Lincoln Cent began in 1904, when President Theodore Roosevelt, deeply unsatisfied with the state of America’s coinage, instituted a new wave of designs in an era known as the Renaissance of American Coinage.

Struck from 1909 to 1958, the original reverse of the Lincoln Cent featured two strands of wheat, giving it the nickname of “wheat cent.” The reverse showcasing the Lincoln Memorial was struck from 1959 to 2008. After the Lincoln Bicentennial in 2009 that featured 4 different reverses, Lyndall Bass’s Shield Reverse debuted in 2010 and has been used since.