Call anytime - leave a message: 303-835-8892 The United States one-cent coin is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. Its symbol is: ¢. Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of his birth. From 1959 (the sesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth) to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. 2009 will see several designs to honor Lincoln's 200th birthday, while the coin will be re-designed in 2010. The coin is 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) in diameter and 0.061 inches (1.55 mm) in thickness.

The one-cent coin is often called a penny, but the U.S. Mint's official name for this coin is cent.

The coin has gone through several designs over its two-hundred-year time frame. Until 1857 it was about the size of the current U.S. dollar coins (Susan B. Anthony through present dollars).

 

Years	Material
1793–1857	copper
1857–1864	88% copper, 12% nickel (also known as NS-12)
1864–1942	bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1943	zinc-coated steel (also known as steel penny)
1944–1946	brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1946–1962	bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1962–1982	brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1982– present	97.5% zinc core, 2.5% copper plating

The following types of cents have been produced:

Large Cent:

• Large Cents Flowing Hair (1793)
• Flowing Hair Wreath (1793)
• Liberty Cap (1793–1796)
• Draped Bust (1796–1807)
• Classic Head (1808–1814)
• Coronet (1816–1839)
• Braided Hair (1839–1857)

• Flying Eagle (1856–1858)
• Indian Head (1859–1909)
• Lincoln Wheat (1909–1958)
• Lincoln Memorial (1959–2008)
• Lincoln Bicentennial 4 reverse designs (2009)
• Lincoln Preservation new reverse undetermined, but not Lincoln Memorial (2010–)

Rare Cents:

• Large Cents Flowing Hair, Chain Reverse (All are rare) 1793 $1,000.00-$10,000.00
• Large Cents Flowing Hair, Wreath Reverse (All are rare) 1793 $400.00-$4,000.00
• Large Cents Liberty Cap (Rare date: 1793) 1793-1796 $75.00-$750.00
• Large Cents Draped Bust (Rare dates: 1799, 1804) 1796-1807 $15.00-$250.00 $1,000.00-$3,500.00
• Large Cents Classic Head (No rare dates) 1808-1814 $15.00-$400.00 $2,000.00-$5,000.00
• Large Cents Matron Head (Scarce date: 1823) 1816-1835 $5.00-$50.00 $150.00-$300.00
• Large Cents Young Head (No rare dates) 1835-1857 $5.00-$25.00 $100.00-$200.00
• Flying Eagle Cents Flying Eagle (Rare date: 1856) 1856-1858 $5.00-$25.00 $100.00-$200.00
• Indian Cents (Rare dates: 1877, 1909-S; Scarce dates: All 1859-1879, 1908-S) 1859-1909 $0.50-$3.00 $15.00-$50.00
• Lincoln Cents Wheat Ear Reverse (Rare dates: 1909-S, 1909-S V.D.B., 1914-D, 1922, 1931-S, 1955 Doubled Date; Scarce dates: 1910-S, 1911-S, 1912-S, 1913-S, 1914-S, 1915-S, 1922-D, 1922-D, 1924-D) 1909-1958 $0.02-$0.05 $0.05-$0.50
• Lincoln Cents Steel w/Zinc Plating (Very common -- sticks to a magnet) 1943 $0.05-$0.10 $0.50-$1.00
  Lincoln Cents Lincoln Memorial Reverse (Rare date: 1972 Doubled Date) 1959-Present Face Value Face Value
• Lincoln Cents 1943 Copper (All are rare -- won't stick to a magnet) 1943