U.S. Mint to unveil new Lincoln penny

Bloomberg

Sunday, September 14th 2008, 4:00 AM

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Mint will unveil designs for a series of four pennies commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln in the first makeover of the 1-cent coin in a half-century.

The coins, which will be released on the 100th anniversary of the first pennies to bear an image of the 16th President, are scheduled to go into circulation next year.

An unveiling ceremony will be held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Sept. 22. Images of the new coins will also be released on the Internet that day.

The first of the series, a penny marking Lincoln’s birth in Kentucky, will be issued on Feb. 12, the President’s birthday in 1809 at Hodgenville, Ky.

Later versions on the new coins will mark Lincoln’s formative years in Indiana, his years as a lawyer and his presidency, the Mint said.