WASHINGTON — At noon Eastern Time (ET) on May 14, 2009, the United States Mint will offer two–roll sets of one–cent coins bearing the second new reverse design struck in honor of the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The historic Lincoln Cent “Formative Years” Two–Roll Set is available for a limited time only and is priced at $8.95 per two–roll set.
The Lincoln Cent “Formative Years” Two–Roll Set contains one roll each of 50 coins, one roll produced at the United States Mint at Philadelphia and one roll produced at the United States Mint at Denver. Each roll of coins in the two–roll set is packaged in specially designed paper coin wrap displaying the mint of origin, the year and the face value of its contents.
The reverse (tails side) of the second redesigned one–cent coin, scheduled to be released into circulation on May 14, depicts a young Abraham Lincoln educating himself while taking a break from working as a rail splitter in Indiana. Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and ONE CENT. United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Charles Vickers designed and sculpted the coin’s reverse.
The obverse (heads side) of each of the four redesigned 2009 one–cent coins continues to bear renowned sculptor Victor David Brenner’s familiar likeness of Lincoln.
Customers may order the Lincoln Cent “Formative Years” Two–Roll Set at the United States Mint’s secure Web site, www.usmint.gov, or at its toll–free number, 1–800–USA–MINT (872–6468). Hearing and speech–impaired customers with TTY equipment may place their orders at 1–888–321–MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all domestic orders. There is an order limit of five sets per household.
One–cent coins bearing designs that represent Lincoln’s professional life in Illinois and his presidency in Washington, D.C. will be released later this year. One–cent coins bearing a log cabin design emblematic of his birth and early childhood were released into circulation on February 12, the bicentennial anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, in Hodgenville, Kentucky.