New Lincoln pennies launched in Springfield

PRINCETON — Two Princeton men were on hand for the Aug. 13 launch of the third Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial one cent coin in Springfield.

Tom Cabeen and Bob Skaggs were among the crowd gathered at the Old State Capitol building in Springfield for the launch of a new Lincoln penny showing Lincoln as a young professional standing on the steps of the Old State Capitol.

On Monday, Cabeen said he’s collected coins since he and his brother were boys with newspaper routes. The new Lincoln coins are a good addition to his collection.

The Aug. 13 penny is one of four coins honoring the 200th birthday of Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the issuance of the Lincoln penny. The first launch was Feb. 12, Lincoln’s birthday, in Lincoln’s birthplace of Hodgenville, Ky. The second launch, held in May in Lincoln City, Ind., depicted Lincoln’s formative years and as a young adult in Indiana. The fourth launch, set for November in Washington D.C., will honor Lincoln’s presidency.

Cabeen said he met his brother for the second launch in Indiana and is considering attending the fourth launch in Washington D.C. He was also able to get pennies from the first launch.

There’s been quite a bit of interest in the new Lincoln pennies, Cabeen said. He was able to go through the line four times in Springfield and got the maximum number of coins allowed. The coins, packed in two-roll sets, contained one roll of 50 coins from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, with no mint mark, and a second roll of 50 coins from the U.S. Mint at Denver, with the “D” mint mark.

For people not able to attend any of the Lincoln coin launches, the U.S. Mint is now accepting orders for the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Proof Set, with a household order limit of five sets.

The sets are priced at $7.95 each and contain proof versions of the four redesigned one-cent coins issued in honor of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the  Lincoln cent.

The obverse, or heads, side of each coin features Victor David Brenner’s image of Lincoln which has been on the Lincoln penny since it was first issued. The reverse, or tails side, depicts the various stages in Lincoln’s life. The new coins are the exact same metallic content as the 1909 Lincoln penny, which is 95 percent copper and 5 percent tin and zinc.