Mintage Information for US Coins
Finally, the one cent denomination found some stability in design with the arrival of the Matron Head or Coronet Head Large Cents. The design was adopted following a one year hiatus in production which resulted from a disruption in the supply of planchets due to the War of 1812. With the planchet supply resumed, a new design by Robert Scot was adopted with an alternate rendition of Liberty.
The one cent denomination continued its evolution during the early days of American coinage. Within the space of five years, there would be four different designs created, which culminated with the Draped Bust design introduced in 1796. Finally, there would be a measure of satisfaction with this design, which continued in use until 1807, experiencing high mintages during the course of its run.
The large cent denomination was underway in 1793 with the Flowing Hair design. Within the course of just a single year, the original design was modified with a new reverse, and then the obverse design was also changed to create a new series. These early cents are extremely scarce and the life-long focus of some advanced collectors.
To celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, four different reverse designs were released for the 2009 Lincoln Cent. The designs represented different stages in the life of the 16th President, depicting his birthplace and childhood, formative years, professional life, and presidency.
Mintages for the 2009 Lincoln Cents were at extremely low levels relative to the prior Lincoln Memorial Cent mintages. In addition to the excitement about the new designs, collectors had to contend with much fewer coins to go around and more fragmented distribution. These factors provided an instant allure to the series, likely causing more quantities than normal to be saved from circulation.
After fifty years of production and widespread circulation, the reverse design of the Lincoln Cent was changed. The redesign coincided with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The new reverse would feature a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial by Frank Gasparro. The obverse of the coin would continue to feature the bust of Lincoln, originally designed by Victor D. Brenner.
The Lincoln Memorial Cent series generally had higher mintage levels for individual issues than the prior Lincoln Wheat Cents. For this reason, the “wheaties” are generally saved from circulation while the coins displaying the Memorial reverse are left to circulate. However, there are some lower mintage coins produced at the San Francisco Mint.