The New Penny

The U.S. Mint released a new penny design in February as a bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the very first penny struck in 1909.

The newest penny, "Preservation of the Union" keeps the classic and familiar image of President Lincoln created by Victor David Brenner and in use since 1909. However the back features an image of a union shield, which dates back to the 1780's and was used widely during the Civil War. The 13 vertical stripes of the shield represent the states joined in one compact union to support the federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above.  The horizontal bar features the inscription E PLURIBUS UNUM-"out of many, one"-while the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is depicted along the upper rim of the coin.

The current Lincoln cent's reverse (tails side) design is emblematic of President Abraham Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a single and united country, as required by Title III of Public Law 109-145, the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. The Secretary of the Treasury approved the reverse design for the coin after consultation with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee.

These one-cent coins have a metallic content of 2.5 percent copper, balance zinc.  They are issued for circulation in quantities sufficient to meet the demands of commerce.  Numismatic (proof and uncirculated) versions are included in the United States Mint's annual product offerings.