Cents
8 series in this category
Half Cents (1793-1857)
The lowest face-value coin ever minted by the U.S. All half cents were made of copper and minted exclusively at the Philadelphia Mint.
Large Cents (1793-1857)
Heavy copper coins that were a staple of early American commerce. The inaugural 1793 Chain Cent is a famous treasure.
Flying Eagle Cents (1856-1858)
The Flying Eagle cent was the first small-size cent, introduced to replace the bulky large cents due to rising copper costs.
Indian Head Cents (1859-1909)
Designed by James B. Longacre, the Indian Head Cent is a cornerstone of American numismatics. Advanced collectors utilize Rick Snow's attribution system (Snow numbers) to identify highly sought-after die pairings, overdates, and repunched dates (RPDs).
Lincoln Cent, Wheat (1909-1958)
Designed by Victor David Brenner, it was the first widely circulating U.S. coin to feature a portrait of a real person.
Lincoln Cent, Memorial (1959-2008)
Featuring Frank Gasparro's structural Memorial design, this series anchors the historic 1982 compositional standard pivot from 95% copper alloy down to a copper-plated zinc core.
Lincoln Cent, Shield Reverse (2010-Present)
Introduced in 2010 to represent Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a single, unified country, featuring a Union Shield designed by Lyndall Bass.
Lincoln Bicentennial Cent (2009)
The four-design program was authorized by the Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Program Act of 2005, and it set the template the Mint would use again the following year for the permanent Union Shield reverse design â making 2009 a genuine turning point in the cent's century-long design history.