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1 Cent 'Lincoln - Wheat Ears Reverse'
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909-1958 |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field bears the denomination ONE CENT in bold incuse letters, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA inscribed in two lines below. Two stylized wheat ears, their stalks curving downward and their heads pointing upward, flank the central legends on the left and right, symbolizing agricultural prosperity. The motto E·PLURIBUS·UNUM arcs along the upper periphery in small capitals, separated by a central dot. The overall design is clean and typographic, characteristic of Brenner's restrained aesthetic for this series. |
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| Additional information |
The Lincoln cent was the first regularly issued U.S. coin to bear a real person's likeness, a deliberate break from the longstanding convention — rooted in anti-monarchical sentiment — that portraits of living or historical individuals had no place on American coinage. President Theodore Roosevelt pushed the redesign as part of a broader beautification campaign for U.S. coinage, commissioning sculptor Victor David Brenner. The initial 1909 issues included Brenner's initials prominently on the reverse, which provoked enough public controversy that the Mint pulled them within weeks of release.
Those first VDB-initialed cents from Philadelphia and San Francisco are now among the most recognized varieties in American numismatics — the 1909-S VDB in particular, with a mintage just above 484,000.