After fifty years in circulation, the concurrent United States one-cent coin, the Lincoln wheat penny, had its reverse side redesigned in 1959; gone were the wheat ears and in their place was an engraving of the President Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. This was done to honor the 150th year anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.
At first the Lincoln Memorial cents, as collectors tend to call pennies with this design from 1959 to 2008, were made almost entirely of copper. In 1982, this was changed to zinc, with a thin copper coating.
Some Lincoln Memorial cents are particularly collectible, including rare errors and double dies as well as special pieces like the 1960 large and small date variations. Proofs, uncirculated copies, and other special collectors’ sets of Lincoln Memorial pennies can also be found for sale, appealing to many collectors of United States coins. Check the current listings for what is available now. In 2009 a new design for Lincoln pennies was introduced to mark the bicentennial of President Lincoln’s birth.