• The Lincoln Penny was first minted in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

• It was the first circulating coin to feature a real person instead of Lady Liberty.

• The reverse of the coin until 1958 was the legendary “wheat ears” design.

• This collection features five classic Lincoln “wheat ears” Pennies.

• There is one coin from each of the three U.S. Mints that struck this coin:  Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. 

• Coins from San Francisco have the “S” mint mark under the date;  coins from Denver have the “D” mint mark;  and coins from Philadelphia have no mint mark.

• In addition, there is one example of each of the World War II “emergency” coins.

• In 1943 the Lincoln Penny was struck in steel instead of copper.

• Copper was of vital importance to America’s war effort in World War II.

• Bullets and shells were made of copper and used in battlefields around the world.

• This is the first and only steel coin in U.S. history, and it was made only in 1943.

• In 1944-1946 the coins were made with copper from recycled shell cases that were gathered up from World War II battleships and battlefields and shipped back to the U.S. Mint.

• “Wheat ears” Lincoln Pennies disappeared from circulation long ago.

• The “wheat ears” design was replaced with the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse in 1959.

• The Lincoln Penny is the longest-running coin in U.S. history.

• The collection comes in a custom display with a Certificate of Authenticity.

• There are five coins in the collection.  Four are .950 copper and .050 tin and zinc, and one is steel coated with zinc.