Penny (United States Coin) - Designs

Designs

The coin has gone through several designs over its two-hundred-year time frame. Until 1857 it was about the size of the current U.S. dollar coins (Susan B. Anthony through present dollars).

The following types of cents have been produced:

Large cents:

• 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)

Small cents:

• Flying Eagle (1856–1858)
• Indian Head (1859–1909)
• Lincoln Wheat (1909–1958)
• Lincoln Memorial (1959–2008)
• Lincoln Bicentennial 4 reverse designs (2009)
• Lincoln Union Shield (2010–)

Throughout its history, the Lincoln cent has featured several typefaces 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.

From 1959 until 2008, the Lincoln Memorial was shown on the reverse of the United States cent. In his treatise Theory and Practise of Numismatic Design, Steve Crooks states that because the Lincoln Memorial was shown in sufficient detail to discern the statue of Lincoln on the reverse of cent, Abraham Lincoln was at that time the only person to be depicted on both the obverse and reverse of the same United States coin. In 1999, the New Jersey state quarter was released, which depicts George Washington on both sides, crossing the Delaware River on the reverse side and in profile on the obverse. (The state quarter for South Dakota, released in 2006, also features Washington on both sides: the typical profile on the obverse, and Washington within Mount Rushmore on the reverse.) Some of the 2009 reverse design series no longer showed Abraham Lincoln, and the 2010 Lincoln Union Shield has removed the president from the coin reverse for the foreseeable future.

An additional design detail that is not readily visible to the naked eye is found on the obverse side of the 1918 onward United States cent. The letters “VDB” stamped on the bottom sleeve of Abraham Lincoln represent the initials of Victor David Brenner, the primary designer of the Wheat cent.