Cent (United States coin)
The
United States one-cent coin, commonly called a
penny, is a unit of
currency equaling of a
United States dollar. Its
obverse has featured the profile of
President Abraham Lincoln since
1909, the
centennial of his birth. Since
1959 (the
sesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth), the
reverse has featured the
Lincoln Memorial. The coin is .75 inches in diameter.
Despite the prevalence of the common term "
penny", the
U.S. Mint has never actually minted a coin for which this is the official name.
The cent's composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent. Some 1982 cents use the 97.6% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition. In
1943, at the peak of
World War II,
cents of zinc-plated steel were made for a short time due to war demands for copper. A few (the U.S. Mint reports forty) copper cents from 1943 were produced from the 1942 planchets remaining in the bins. Similarly, some 1944 steel cents have been reported. Following 1943, salvaged
ammunition shells made their way into the minting process, and it was not uncommon to see coins featuring streaks of
brass or having a considerably darker finish than other issues.
|
1974 aluminum cent from the Smithsonian. |
During the early
1970s, the price of
copper rose to a point where the penny almost contained more than one cent's worth of copper. This led the Mint to test alternate metals, including
aluminum and
bronze-clad steel. Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million of these were struck and ready for public release before ultimately being rejected. About a dozen aluminum cents are believed to still be in the hands of collectors, although they are now considered illegal, and are subject to seizure by the
Secret Service. One aluminum cent was donated to the
Smithsonian Institution.
The price of copper later returned to profitable levels. The Mint did not need to change the cent's composition again until
1982.
As of
June 29 2006, the price of copper is $3.42 per pound and zinc is $1.50 per pound. At these prices, the pre-1982 copper cent contains 2.204 cents worth of copper metal; it is now potentially profitable to melt them down. Presumably with the rapid rise in price for zinc (more than doubled in the last six months), the US Mint will have to find another alternative. Just the scrap zinc in a cent is worth 0.9 cents. With the costs of manufacturing and distribution, the net cost to produce one cent is about $0.0123, significantly higher than the face value of the coin.
The coin has gone through several designs over its two-hundred year history. Until 1857 it was about the size of the current
half-dollar coin.
 |
Detail of obverse |
 |
Detail of reverse showing Lincoln Memorial and statue. |
The following types of cents have been produced:
*Flowing Hair Chain 1793
*Flowing Hair Wreath 1793
*Liberty Cap 1793–1796
*Draped Bust 1796–1807
*Classic Head 1808–1814
*Coronet 1816–1839
*Braided Hair 1839–1857
*
Flying Eagle 1856–1858
*
Indian Head 1859–1909
*
Lincoln Wheat Ears 1909–1958
*Lincoln Memorial 1959–2008
Throughout its history, the Lincoln cent has featured several fonts for the date, but most of the digits have been
old-style numerals, except with the "4" and "8" neither ascending nor descending. The only significant divergence is that the "3" was non-descending (the same size as a "0", "1", or "2") in the early history, before switching to descending for one year in 1934 and then permanently (
as of 2004) in 1943.
The Lincoln Memorial is shown on the reverse of the United States penny. In his treatise
Theory and Practise of Numismatic Design, Steve Crooks states that because the Lincoln Memorial is shown in sufficient detail to discern the statue of Lincoln on the reverse of the penny, Abraham Lincoln was the only person to be depicted on both the obverse and reverse of the same United States coin, up until the release of New Jersey
state quarter in 1999, which depicts
George Washington crossing the
Delaware River on the reverse side.
In
2009 the cent will get a one-year, four-coin commemorative program marking the 100th anniversary of Lincoln being placed on the cent (and the 200th anniversary of his birth). This redesign was passed as part of the
Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, which also mandates that for 2009 only, the cent's composition be change back to what it was in 1909, which was
bronze. In 2010, the cent will be completely redesigned, with a new, permanent design being released into circulation. Lincoln, however, will remain on the coin. The composition will return to copper plated zinc.
|
1959 US cent, first year mint with Lincoln Memorial design on reverse. |
Various commentators have suggested that the penny should be eliminated as a unit of currency for several reasons including that many Americans don't actually spend them, but rather only receive them in change at stores and proceed to return them to a bank for higher denomination currencies. In addition, US cents have reached a point where the cost to produce one is slightly above its face value of one cent. In 2002 and 2006, for example,
United States Representative Jim Kolbe of
Arizona introduced bills which would have stopped production of pennies (in 2001 the
Legal Tender Modernization Act, and in 2006 the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act). [
1]
*
Large cent (United States coin)*
Mill (currency)*
United States Mint coin production*
Take a penny, leave a penny*
The Composition of the Cent from the U.S. Mint website
*
The Controversy over the Lincoln Penny*
Why does Lincoln face to the right? - An article explaining why Lincoln faces to the right on the US Cent
*
Man tries to get rid of million pennies, USATODAY/AP, 7/1/2004*
Not So Common Cents - shortage of pennies, FindArticles, August 16, 1999
