# 14 - The Lincoln Cent

We can write several books about the Lincoln Cent. It is a fascinating story, since the beginnings in 1909 till now. It had two main faces, the Wheat Reverse and the Modern Reverse.
I don't have a Wheat Reverse, so I will pick one on the Internet.

The obverse is the same since 1909, Lincoln's picture.
The Modern Reverse can be divided in three phases : The Memorial Reverse (1959-2008), The Bi-Centennial Reverse (2009) and the Shield Reverse (2010-Today).
I will show you the Memorial Reverse and the Shied Reverse.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent, the Mint issued four special Cents in 2009, each showing a different phase of Lincoln's life. The official names for the types were :
Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky
Formative Years in Indiana
Professional Life in Illinois
Presidency in Washington, DC

Circulation strikes were made of copper-plated zinc. Collector sets sold by the Mint were made of the same bronze composition as the pre-1982 Bronze Cents (95% copper and 5% tin and zinc).

The cent is the most collected coin in USA, but its usefulness is in the past. It costs the Mint more than 1.5c to make one. Several Representatives have already tried to extinct it, but all efforts failed in the Congress.
Why, I ask ? For similar reasons that they can't extinct the $1 notes (see the comments on this post : The Sacagawea Dollar https://steemit.com/steemsilvergold/@ronaldoavelino/11-sacagawea-dollars

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Come back tomorrow for individual sports in coins.

Thank you for reading and please comment, upvote, resteem and advise me.