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uthminsta
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1872 Posts |
 Posted - 02/16/2010 : 13:26:47
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2010 Union Shield Lincoln Cent Launch
By Greg Fleckenstein
I attended the launch ceremony for the 2010 Lincoln Cent with the new Union Shield reverse design. The event was held on February 11, 2010 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. As early as 5:30 AM on Thursday morning, people began standing in the 7 degree morning air outside the museum awaiting entrance. When I arrived at 8:00 AM there were about 40 people in line, but by 8:30 the line nearly wrapped around the building. I heard stories of people sleeping in hotels and cars. Some called Springfield home, while others came from as far away as San Antonio, TX.
The doors opened at 9:00 AM and everyone filed into a well organized line to get out of the cold. The cold kept a lot of people away, but nearly 400 people came through the door by the time the presentation began. Around 9:30, the festivities began. Jan Grimes, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, began by welcoming us all there and bringing the master of ceremonies, Elizabeth Wooley to the podium. She introduced James Cornelius, the curator of the library, who made remarks on Lincoln’s life and what he meant to our nation.
United States Mint Director Edmund Moy took the stand next and explained what the new design entailed. It is the first permanent design change to the penny in 51 years. It also features the same digitized Lincoln silhouette that’s been there since 1909. This penny design will be the same for the next 49 years. The design represents Lincoln’s preservation of the Union. It features the Union shield, with 13 stripes for the 13 Union States, and E pluribus Unum showing our nation's solidarity. The shield dates back to the 1780’s and was a central symbol of the union during the civil war.
Mr. Moy thanked the members of Congress who made the new Lincoln Cent design possible. He especially gave thanks to Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democratic Senator who was the primary sponsor of the authorizing legislation. At this point, Director Moy brought Mrs. Grimes back on stage to unveil the penny. They both took Lincoln style top hats filled with pennies and poured them like a fountain into a bucket. Immediately after, the coin exchange was opened where attendees were allowed to exchange currency for rolls of the new cents at face value.
There were 5 cashiers and the process went very smoothly. I was about the 40th person in line, but was out the door in about 2 minutes. Limits in place were a minimum of two rolls and a maximum of six rolls per person. I asked the supervisor how many cases had been brought in, and she commented that there were exactly one million pennies available. They also had single coins available to the many groups of schoolchildren and kids under the age of 18. Along with the coin event, we were offered free admission to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
Many people were interested in getting the first day of issue stamp, which had been difficult and chaotic to obtain when the 3rd 2009 penny was unveiled in Springfield last year. This year, the stamping would take place exclusively at the Cook St. Post Office. I was the first person to arrive, bought my 2 stamps for each roll, and had them immediately stamped. There were three cashiers available and six stampers. This made a well organized day even better. I heard few complaints except for the cold and lack of seats, but overall the entire event was well planned and executed.
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Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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rodebaugh
Penny Collector Member
USA
377 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2010 : 14:17:27
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Good read. Wish I could have been there. Well there is always 49 years from now to look forward to |
http://rodebaugh.ecrater.com/ |
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JobIII
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1507 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2010 : 14:50:38
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| I really thought the penny was going to have another reverse after the shield. I wonder if the '10 mints are going to be held by collectors like the '09 minting. |
Selling Copper cents. $0 FV available at 1.4xFV. Also interested in trading for wheat pennies and other coins Please pm me for requests or inquiries.
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uthminsta
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1872 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2010 : 18:48:36
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| I just don't think the one cent coin will even be around then... with WHATEVER design. |
Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2010 : 19:41:22
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| I think the '10 mint will be held just like, and I don't think pennies will be around too much longer except in our basements. |
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marine70
Penny Pincher Member
USA
150 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2010 : 20:03:37
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| I agree I think the penny will be a thang of the past. |
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Dalmatian929
New Member
15 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 12:39:00
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| I will be surprised if the $5 bill with Lincoln's image will be in production 49 years from now. Maybe those will be the equivalent of pennies by then? |
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JobIII
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1507 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 12:56:39
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| I think that Lincoln will continue to linger on our currency. Whether or not the $5 bill and penny go out of style is a different question. |
Selling Copper cents. $0 FV available at 1.4xFV. Also interested in trading for wheat pennies and other coins Please pm me for requests or inquiries.
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Zyll
Penny Pincher Member
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 13:15:40
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| Well so far I have seen plenty of 2009 pennies in circulation and it doesn't look like people are hoarding them...in fact I haven't heard ANY buzz about them on the street. I would wager that changing the reverse is so 1999 that nobody cares anymore. None of the tellers are getting people asking for new coins like they were when the state quarters were being released. So honestly I think until the composition changes again, it won't be headline news. |
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JJM
Penny Sorter Member
71 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2010 : 14:35:36
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Cool article, thanks. I thought about going, probably should have. My great-greatgrandfather lived in Springfield before and after serving in the Civil War.
I handsort, and as the months go by I see far fewer LP1 and LP2 in circulation where I'm at, I think people are hanging on to them around here. (Upper plains) This could very widely by locality of course.
I believe that as long as there is a U.S. Mint, there will be Lincoln penny. Long after they are no longer practical for use as currency, they can release them for collectors at NIFC and reap some serious cash for doing so. And if they can, they will.
I think the real wild card is not whether the penny will still be around in 49 years, its whether the U.S. Mint will still be around. Personally, I have my doubts... |
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Lincolns for the next 49 years? Yeah right.
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