Sep 23, 2008 | cents, coin design, US Mint
The US Mint held a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to unveil the four new reverse designs for the 2009 Lincoln Cent.
The four reverse designs were part of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-145 [GPO: TEXT, PDF]) to celebrate the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. The law calls for four reverse designs to honor Lincoln’s birth and early childhood in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois, and his presidency in Washington, DC.
The obverse of the coin will continue to have the portrait of Abraham Lincoln that was designed by Victor David Brenner and first released in 1909.
New coin designs will be release quarterly with the Early Childhood reverse being released on February 12, 2009.
These new coins will circulate with the District of Columbia and United States Territorial Quarters. Additionally, do not forget the 2009 scheduled Presidential $1 Coins honoring William Henry Harrison (our 9th president), John Tyler (10th), James K. Polk (11th), and Zachary Taylor (12th).
Click image to enlarge.
Aug 21, 2008 | coin design, pocket change
I like hunting for coins in change. But it has been since early June since my last find. Maybe instead of looking in my pocket, I should look at the ground. I was pointed to a story about two different people who hunt for change on the ground. They never pass any coin lying by itself waiting to be picked up.
One profile was the Humphrey family from Staten Island, New York who catalogs their finds on their blog, The Changepot. They post little snippets about their finds including what they were doing at the time. As I write this, the blog reports that they have found $383.65 in 2008 and $1,039.89 since 2005.
Scott Caulfield hunts for lost change in St. Louis, Missouri. According to his blog, Thoughts from the Change Race, Scott started as a race against a friend. At this time, he writes about his finds which now totals $275.55.
Sally Herships, who reports on the story, wrote about her “research” into the story on SoHoSally’s Blog. In 18 days Sally found 27-cents. I am surprised she did not find more in SoHo, a great neighborhood in New York City.
Caulfield, the Humphrey family, and the good people at Common Cents shows that “it’s just a penny” is worth being picked up. I may have to start looking down as I go through my day!
Jun 20, 2008 | coin design, quarter, state quarters
On June 19, the District of Columbia Office of the Secretary announced that the design for the DC quarter will feature Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. The design will include the official District motto, “Justice For All.”
Ellington beat out designs honoring Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker by a margin of 36-percent to 33-percent for Douglass and 31-percent for Banneker. Ellington was the only native of Washington, DC of the group.
As with most decisions in the nation’s capital, the design of the DC quarter was not without controversy. First, the DC government submitted a narration with the unofficial motto “Taxation Without Representation” to raise the awareness that the District of Columbia is the only national capital that does not have representation its government legislative body. The US Mint rejected the design as “controversial.”
Then it was questioned as to who should appear on the quarter to represent the District of Columbia. While Ellington, Douglass, and Banneker have various ties to the District, none could have been said to have really defined the District. In reality, Ellington’s major accomplishments occurred in New York, Banneker was from Maryland, and while Douglass’s work was important, it had nothing to do with the District itself.
Over the last few months, I have been trying to convince anyone who would listen to me to change the design to honor Walter E. Washington. Washington was the first Mayor of the consolidated District of Columbia (Georgetown had its own mayor at one time) under the DC Home Rule Act of 1973.
As the last appointed commissioner of the DC, Washington faced the rioters following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. refusing to shoot them, as recommended by FBI director J. Edger Hoover. Washington worked with city leaders in their push for home rule.
If the DC activists, including Mayor Adrian Fenty, wanted to make a statement, placing Mayor Washington on the quarter would have given them the opportunity to speak about Home Rule and the problems the city has faced since.
I love Duke’s music, but I think Walter E. Washington would have been a better choice.
Jun 19, 2008 | CCAC, CFA, coin design, coins, dollar, US Mint
Simcha Kuritzky, Treasurer of the Montgomery County Coin Club and past president of the Maryland State Numismatic Association, attended the June 18, 2008 meeting of the Citizen Coinage Advisory Committee. The agenda was to review the possible reverses for the Native American $1 Coins.
Simcha reported that for the 2009 reverse, the CCAC chose the design representing the three sisters: maize, beans, and squash, which are grown together. As required by law (Public Law 110-82 [PDF]), the date will be removed from the obverse and placed on the edge so that all circulating dollar coins will have edge lettering.
There were three reverses that had substantial support: a woman planting seeds with three corn plants in the background; three woman’s faces with the respective plants intertwined in their hair; and three sets of plants with a shining sun. The first and last designs had the most support from Native American groups. The main arguments at the meeting were over the novelty of design: the three faces design was a fresh approach and some members wanted greater artistic vision, while others were concerned that most people wouldn’t understand the design. The woman planting design had support because it showed agriculture (as opposed to nature) and women’s roles in the native economy, but the plants were small and may not show up well on the actual coin.
The designs and CCAC recommendation will be submitted to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts for their opinion. The Director of the US Mint as proxy for the Secretary of the Treasury will make the final decision.
Jun 14, 2008 | coin design
After writing about the next gimmick being offered by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), I was thinking about what could be the next change in our change.
At one time, we had a president who looked at our coinage and decided that it needed to change. This president wanted to place his mark on our coinage by creating a modern classic beauty that fit a great nation. Rather than trying to fight with congress to make these changes, this president looked at what could be done without congressional involvement. He picked the oldest coin and started ordering redesign. This president call it his “pet crime.”
The oldest design on our circulation coinage is the Roosevelt Dime. Shortly after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the public was clamoring for something to honor the fallen president. The dime seemed like a natural choice since Roosevelt was inflicted with polio, or infantile paralysis as it was commonly known, and the dime was the symbol of the “March of Dimes” campaign that began during Roosevelt’s first term.
The Roosevelt Dime has been used since 1946. With the exception of the placement of the mint mark and the composition, its design has not changed in 62 years. There has also not been a “special program” to alter the design during that time. After the obverse of the Lincoln Cent, it is the oldest design of any current issue. Maybe it is time for a change.
Before someone attacks me about FDR’s association with the March of Dimes, think about when the last time you saw a “Dime Card” campaign. I remember the dime cards. They were passed out in schools or placed on counters at local stores for people to slip dimes into the slots. The cards were returned to the March of Dimes who would use the money for their good work. But they do not use this method any more—although the Penny Harvest demonstrates how using small change can go a long way. You may be able to find these cards in yard sales, antique shops, or in auctions.
Not only are these cards hard to find, I had a difficult time searching for an image to use on this page!
In the mean time, the president whose pet crime gave our coinage the greatest renaissance in its history has never been honored on a coin. Maybe it is time to retire Franklin and replace his with his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt was not only the first president to earn the Nobel Peace Prize but he is the only one to earn it while still in office. The trust-busting Roosevelt worked tirelessly for the every day American. Roosevelt felt it was so important to work for the people that he invited the people to greet the president Sundays at the White House. People lined up for hours to shake Roosevelt’s hand.
It was Theodore Roosevelt’s administration that purchased the most land of any administration as public park lands to preserve their beauty for all Americans. Roosevelt created the National Wildlife Refuge System by presidential proclamation in 1903.
Theodore Roosevelt is the only president honored on Mount Rushmore not honored on our money. Maybe it is time we honor Theodore Roosevelt on the US coinage he took pride in beautifying.
May 31, 2008 | coin design, legislative
On a stormy Saturday in your nation’s capital, I have been taking my inside time to watch the Rules and Bylaws Committee [PDF] of the Democratic National Committee argue about what to do with the delegates from Florida and Michigan. During one of the interruptions because the storms knocked out the signal, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews commented “welcome to the sausage factory of politics,” a twist on the Otto von Bismarck quote “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”
After a brief chuckle, I thought how this was true in the world of coin production in the United States since every coin and medal that the US Mint produces is governed by law. In fact, I think the United States is the only country the regulates coins in this manner.
Rather than go into how laws are made here in the United States, I point the reader to this excellent write up provided at the Library of Congress. The PDF version describes this sausage making recipe in 58 pages.
The laws that are passed which govern the US Mint are codified in Title 31, Subtitle IV, Chapter 51, Subchapter II of the United States Code (U.S.C.). Section 5111 (31 U.S.C. §5111) give the authority to strike coins and medals to the Department of the Treasury. Section 5113 (31 U.S.C. §5113) talks about the tolerance in the weight of minted coins and orders that their weights and content be verified.
But the significant section of coinage law is Section 5112 (31 U.S.C. §5112), Denominations, specifications, and design of coins. Section 5112 covers all of the specification for every coin struck by the Mint. It describes the size, weight, content, and the design of the coin. Very little is left up to the Mint in coinage design.
Within Section 5112, there are specific paragraphs that tell the Mint exactly what coins are to look like. For example, paragraph (q) (31 U.S.C. §5112(q)) titled Gold Bullion Coins, that tells the Mint that the $50 gold coin is to “bear the original designs by James Earle Fraser, which appear on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the ‘Buffalo nickel’ or the ‘1913 Type 1’.”
Other paragraphs, like paragraph (l) that authorizes the 50 State Quarter Program, describes the process which the design will be made. In the case of the state quarters, the recommendation starts with the states then goes through the Mint’s regular design process.
The Mint’s design process is another example of the sausage making that governs US coinage. Once the Mint receives the Public Law, it either takes the input from the state or commemorative group involved to the Mint’s artists and engravers so they can create several designs that meet the legal requirements. Coin designs go through an internal review process before they are given to the Director of the Mint to submit them to the next process.
Once the designs are created, they are forwarded to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee to review and recommend a design. The CCAC may also ask the artists to alter designs for historical or aesthetic reasons and return with updated designs.
The CCAC was established by congress in 1992 as part of Public Law 102-390 (31 U.S.C. §5135) “to advise the Secretary on the selection of subjects and designs for commemorative coins.” (emphasis added)
Once advised by the CCAC, many paragraphs within Section 5112 requires that the designs are then sent to the US Commission of Fine Arts for their “review.” The CFA reviews the same designs as the CCAC and are not bound by the CCAC’s decision. In fact, there are many cases where the CFA will choose a different design or request different changes than decided by the CCAC. Changes are then vetted by the CCAC and the CFA. Many times, the CCAC and CFA will continue to disagree. An example of this version of the sausage grinder was evident on selecting the designs for the reverse of the 2009 Lincoln Cents.
But the process does not end there. The recommendations of the CCAC and CFA are forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury, who has the final approval of all designs. Since the founding of the CCAC, no Treasury Secretary has ignored the recommendations of either organization. Typically, the Secretary approves the same design as recommended by the CFA, but is not required to do so. A classic example of this was the decision by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon to ignore the CFA recommendation on the design of the original Washington Quarter.
During the design process, the Mint ensures that the metals are procured to strike the coins or medal. Within Section 5112 are many paragraph that require that the metals used to strike the coins be purchased from US mines on the open market. The US Mint is the single largest purchaser of gold and silver in the United States while they compete with everyone else for the stores of copper, tin, and nickel to strike circulating coinage. The law prohibits the Mint from paying anything other than market value for coinage metals.
Once the Secretary approves the design, the Mint’s engravers do what is necessary to make the dies that will be used to strike the coins or medals. The Mint then gets to decide on the packaging and the price of the commemorative coin, bullion issue, or medal. Commemoratives will usually add a surcharge that will be donated to a particular organization. The parameters for pricing coins is also described in Section 5112.
Sometimes, the Mint does not even get to control where the coins are struck. Some laws will specify which branch mint will strike the coins. Others, like bullion issues are predetermined in other sections within Title 31.
Before collectibles can be sold, the Mint has to determine the price that will be charged for these items. Section 5112 requires the Mint to take into consideration of the market value of the metals used, the costs required to produce and sell the item, and the surcharge that will be donated to a particular organization. As we have seen in the past year, the Mint will re-price precious metals issues as the volatile market adjusts prices.
Finally, the coins and medals are struck. If they are circulating coins, the Mint strikes enough to meet the demand of the Federal Reserve plus additional for sale to collectors. Commemorative and collectible bullion can have mintage limits that are defined in Section 5112
The only part of the process that the Mint has complete control over is the marketing and packaging for numismatic sales. While the Mint may not produce more than the legal limit for any coin, they are allowed to create special packaging for collectors. The Mint has created special sets for some commemorative issues that include “coins and chronicles” sets that includes commemorative and proof strikes of circulating coins.
Whether it is the 50 State Quarter in circulation, a commemorative issue, or a medal honoring someone for their contribution to society, you are looking at the end result of the sausage making process that goes into making our coinage. Remember that when you think, “why did the Mint do that?”
May 17, 2008 | CCAC, CFA, coin design, gold, US Mint
Today, I noticed that the US Commission of Fine Arts posted the final minutes from their April 17, 2008 meeting. The CFA is part of the coin design bureaucracy that is required to approve, reject, or recommend changes to coin designs. These minutes approve of the 2009 Double Eagle gold coin US Mint Director Edmund Moy proposed the design to the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee.
The CFA approval reads as follows:
Confirmation of recommendation on the 2009 Double Eagle Gold $20 ultra-high relief coin based on 1907/08 design by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Mr. [Thomas E.] Luebke [Secretary] said that the proposal had been circulated to the Commission members for a vote prior to the Commission meeting due to the U.S. Mint&rsqou;s tight production schedule and the similarity of the proposal to a historic coin design; he asked the Commission to confirm the recommendation. He said that the Mint’s proposal was to reissue a coin from 1907 designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens: the original high-relief design was minted for one year, then adapted by the Mint to a low-relief coin that was issued from 1908 to 1932. The only proposed changes to the 1907 design would be to update the minting year, which will continue to be rendered in Roman numerals; to add a rim which will improve the production process; and to add the phrase “In God We Trust” which was historically included on the coin from 1908 onward. Upon a motion by Mr. [Earl A.] Powell [Chairman] with second by Ms. [Dianna] Balmori, the Commission confirmed its recommendation to approve the updated design with the comment that the Roman numerals for the issue date be as similar as possible to the original design in scale, spacing, and character.
As for the necessary legislation to allow the Mint the produce these coins, H.R. 5614 passed the House of Representatives on May 15 with a unanimous vote. The Senate’s version, S. 2924, is still in committee.
May 7, 2008 | BEP, cents, coin design, coins, currency, gold, Israel, legislative, US Mint
It has been a week since my last post and I thought an update was in order. I will follow up with a post for some of these at another time. This will give me something to do while proctoring the final exam in an information security course I am teaching this semester.
I recently received four polymer 20 New Israeli Shekelim notes from a dealer in Israel. These notes are the first that Israel is producing on polymer “paper” that was developed by the The Reserve Bank of Australia. Israel is another in the growing list of countries to start using the polymer material. The notes include the same security features as rag-based notes and include a new clear window with a watermark that is said to be extremely difficult to counterfeit. While the polymer substrate costs little more and the production is only marginally more expensive, the benefit will come from the reduction in counterfeiting and the durability of the note. Polymer will last three-to-six times longer than rag-based paper.
According to unconfirmed reports, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is experimenting with different types of polymer paper for both US and foreign production. If the BEP can adjust their equipment to print on polymer paper, they can solicit business from other countries to produce their currency. Once the BEP builds its portfolio, they are prepared to go to congress to recommend discontinuing production of the one-dollar note. Until then, the BEP will continue to produce one-dollar notes in order to keep workers in key congressional districs in the Washington, DC and Fort Worth, TX areas employed. Remember, 95-percent of the BEP’s production are for one-dollar federal reserve notes.
The spot price of gold continues to drop as the dollar gains against the Euro and the Pound. Prices are returning to pre-2008 levels. However, buyers of gold collectors coins from the US Mint has not seen their prices reduced. While the Mint repriced gold and platinum coins in February and March, the Mint has not lowered their prices with the market. The one-ounce American Gold Eagle proof coin is still $1,199.95, the new price given in February. With gold closing at $876.88 today, the $327.07 premium is 36.8-percent higher than the spot price. This will cause problems for those who buy at thiese prices when reselling these coins.
While we are talking about gold, the Original Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Ultra-High Relief Bullion Coin Act was simultaneously introduced in both the House (H.R. 5614) and Senate (S. 2924). These identical bills will allow the Mint to strike high-relief $20 gold pieces using the Augustus Saint-Gaudens original 1907 design. The date will be in roman numerals and the motto “In God We Trust” will be added over the rising sun as it appeared in 1908. The coin will be on a double-thick, 24-karat gold planchet (sometimes called a piefort) 27 millimeters in diameter.
The US Mint finally posted its online product schedule for the rest of the year. The only thing that jumps out at me is that the 2008 American Buffalo 24-karat gold proof coin is not listed.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives began to debate H.R. 5512, the Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008. The primary provisions of the bill will allow the US Mint to determine the size and composition of US coins without having to ask congress for permission. It also specifies that following 2009, the one-cent coin would be “be produced primarily of steel and treated to impart a copper color to its appearance similar to one-cent coins produced of a copper-zinc alloy.” Debate was cut off on procedural grounds by Republican lawmakers who oppose the bill.
It was just another uneventful week!
Apr 27, 2008 | Britain, coin design, foreign
For the first time in 40 years, the Royal Mint is redesigning the reverse of British circulating coins. To come up with a new design, the Royal Mint held an open competition for the new design. The goal was to find a design that would represent the country but in a “modern, fresh way.” After receiving over 4,000 entries, a novel design based on the Royal Arms was chosen to appear on all six circulating coins.
Said to be “firmly rooted in the heraldic traditions of the British coinage yet beautifully contemporary,” the design calls for the penny and pence coins to show a section of the Royal Arms that includes the heraldic designs that have been a part of British coinage since the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). It has been called a “jigsaw puzzle effect.” To unify the design, the £1 coin will contain a full image of the Royal Arms. To understand the effect, the image to the right of this paragraph shows the reverse of the coins laid out to show how the parts fit the whole image.
The obverse will continue to use the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley.
The winning design was submitted by Matthew Dent, a 26 year-old professional graphic designer. With a sense of history and artistry, Dent created the design for its symbolism and the jigsaw idea to represent the unity of the nation. Dent wrote, “I liked the idea and symbolism of using the Royal Arms, where individually the coins could focus on specific elements and when placed together they reveal the complete Royal Arms.”
Coinage design in the United Kingdom is different from here in the United States. The Royal Mint is a corporation of the crown, meaning it is owned by the monarch and subject to the Queen’s decrees. Royal Mint management decided to redesign the coins with the approval of the Queen.
The competition was managed by The Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC). Established by King George V in 1922 to raise the quality of the coinage, the RMAC fulfills the same role as the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the Committee of Fine Arts does in the United States. However, unlike the US, the RMAC has authority to recommend themes and other design elements. In the US, themes and design elements are part of the law passed by congress and signed by the president.
Once the design was selected, the recommendation was sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his capacity as Master of the Mint. The Chancellor of the Exchequer would be equivalent to the Secretary of the Treasury here in the US. Following the approval by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the design was delivered to Queen Elizabeth for royal approval.
The Royal Mint is working on preparing dies and producing coins for both the collector and circulation by the Bank of England. Circulating coins are expected to reach the public by the summer. When they are released, old coins will continue to circulate along side the new coins.
A video produced by the Royal Mint discusses the new design, the competition, and has an interview with Matthew Dent.
The design is a phenomenal idea. I was impressed with the concept as soon as I saw it on the Royal Mint’s website. Since the Royal Mint will be attending the World’s Fair of Money® this July in Baltimore, I look forward to seeing the sets in person.
Image courtesy of the Royal Mint.
Jan 20, 2008 | coin design, medals, Morgan, US Mint
I came across a thread on the Collectors Society message boards about a slabbed medal whose design was based on a sketch by US Mint engraver and artist George T. Morgan. The sketch was found by researchers in 2002 at the Smithsonian Institute. It was buried in the pages of a sketchbook Morgan used to draw design ideas. This sketch was an 1876 idea for the grandest of all coins, a coin with such a high denomination that the design had to be the most beautiful ever proposed. It was the design for a $100 Union gold coin.
There appears to be very little written about the coin or why Morgan sketched the design. In 2005, the Smithsonian entered into a deal with the New York Mint to strike private issue gold and silver proof medals based on the design. The New York Mint struck 999 one-ounce gold proof medals, had them certified by NGC, and housed them in a cherry-wood box whose cover has a replica the original Morgan sketch. These medals are sold out. The New York Mint continues to sell a 1½-ounce silver proof coin also certified by NGC issued in a velvet pouch.
Morgan’s design features Miss Liberty, sitting on what appears to be bales of cotton, next to stalks of wheat, on the banks of a river with the mountains in the background. She is holding an olive branch in her left hand and a caduceus on a long staff in her right. Although we think of the caduceus as a medical symbol, it has a history dating back to ancient Greece as an astrological symbol of commerce and attributed to Hermes. It was a symbol to show the Greek authority over trading (the long staff) with the strength to enforce its authority (the wings), with the wisdom to not abuse its power (the snakes). The symbolism is interesting given the history of its use.
Snakes, or serpents, have a long history of being symbols for deceit or other negative symbols. But in ancient Greece, the serpents were a symbol of wisdom and even strength that would inspire the thinkers of the time. Since wisdom can have differing views, two snakes were used to symbolize the balance achieved by considering opposing forces. Interestingly, the Rod of Asclepius was the symbol of healing used by Asclepius, the son of Apollo, and uses one snake to symbolize rebirth—as the snake sheds and re-grows its skin—and fertility.
In later years, the Pagans were known to be fascinated by the mysticism of snakes. Pagan leaders liked to control the masses and adopted the snakes as a sinister representation of wisdom. The practice lead to snakes becoming a representation of the mystics whose faux wisdom was used to empower the animal’s handlers. The handlers would train the snakes to attack on command, which were used as threats to those who would not believe. When the crusades were fought against the Pagans, snake handlers would use their skills to attack Christian soldiers. As the Pagans were defeated and converted to Catholicism, papal edicts banned the use of snakes in all religious ceremonies and symbols. Even though the church had compromised with Pagans and many others to facilitate conversion, the church was adamant about not allowing snakes as part of any religious ceremonies.
When Morgan arrived in the United States from his native Great Britain in 1876, the dominant design on US coinage was seen on the Seated Liberty coins and the Trade Dollar. The Seated Liberty design appears to be based on Britannia with American symbols. Britannia is an allegorical symbol of Great Britain who holds a trident proclaiming her superiority of the sea and a shield emblazoned with the Union Jack saying she is ready to defend her homeland. Britannia is usually depicted wearing a helmet and near the sea. For the Seated Liberty design, the allegorical symbol for Liberty replaces Britannia, a version of the US flag is shaped as a shield showing defense of the new nation, and the trident replaced by the phrygian cap (sometimes called the Liberty Cap) on a pole that is considered a protest symbol as being pro liberty.
It can be speculated that a grand coin, such as a $100 issue, would require a design worthy of the country’s first one hundred years and the growth being seen in recent memory. Morgan may have looked at the phrygian cap and thought that the protest should be over, especially since the United States and Great Britain had normalized relations. Morgan may have thought that the caduceus would represent the new strength of the nation: commerce, after the Transcontinental Express traveled from New York to San Francisco in just over 83 hours. Morgan borrowed the bales of hay and stalks of wheat from the Trade Dollar and placed Miss Liberty on the banks of a river to represent the trading routes offered through the country.
Using the caduceus was an interesting symbolic choice. It has both noble and ignoble meanings throughout history. On one hand, it is a positive symbol of commerce. On the other hand, it is a symbol of deceit in a time when the election of Rutherford B. Hayes as the 19th President and the corruption represented by the political machine of Tammany Hall dominated the headlines. Although the concept for the coin never made it beyond Morgan’s sketch, it can be speculated that the Christians of the time may have objected to its use.
We may never know why George Morgan sketched this pattern or the symbolism he was trying to capture. But given what we know about the symbols, it shows Morgan’s talent for classic design. One can only wonder what our coin designs might have been had his presence was not resented by William and Charles Barber.
Image courtesy of user bsshog40 from the Collectors Society message boards.
The US Mint held a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to unveil the four new reverse designs for the 2009 Lincoln Cent.
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