1919 D Lincoln Cent
Next year, 2009, we will celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the birth of our 16th President Abraham Lincoln. In addition, 2009 will mark the 100th Anniversary of our Lincoln Cent. Lincoln is remembered for his personal struggles and family tradgies he encountered during the civil war by most, none the less, he had a very colorful career as a self taught attorney prior to becoming our Nations President. In the mid 1850s his cases focused almost entirely on transportation interests of river barges and railroads. These were giants of industry at the time and Lincoln was in the middle of it all. There are several prominent cases during this time in which Lincoln demonstrated his skills as an attorney. Such as, in 1851 Lincoln argued that as a matter of law a corporation is not bound by its original charter when the charter can be amended in the public interest. His most famous civil case, which won Lincoln much notoriety, was the 1856 landmark Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company. However, thought by many his most notable criminal trial came in 1858 in his defense of William Armstrong, a fellow who had been charged with murder. Lincoln’s use of judicial notice that an eyewitness had lied on the stand) was a rare tactic at the time. It is a very interesting story.
Our 16th President was indeed a very colorful and brilliant gentleman and to continue to honor him in 2009 on our coinage is a continuation of our respect to his character and leadership during a challenging time of this great nation.
In 2009 the Lincoln Cent reverse design will change and feature a series of four different designs released every three months. Each of the designs will represent different stages in the life of Abraham Lincoln (see below).
- Birth in Kentucky (1809-16)
- Formative Years in Indiana (1816-30)
- Professional Life in Illinois (1830-61)
- Presidency in Washington DC (1861-65)
Additionally, the Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to mint and issue numismatic coins with the original composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. Fantastic!
There will also be 500,000 Commemorative Silver Dollar issued to honor President Lincoln. The design will be illustrative of the life and legacy of President Lincoln.
Both proof and uncirculated versions of the coin will be available from the US Mint from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Starting in 2010, the reverse design will be changed once again to one emblematic of Lincoln’s preservation of the USA as a unified country as we continue to honor this Great Statesman into the future.
The 2010 issue will permanently replace the Lincoln Memorial reverse used since 1959.
Thanks for reading.
Gammill Coin Gazette 
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