The United States Mint launched the fourth 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin today in a ceremony held at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial located below the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The coin, bearing a reverse (tails side) design emblematic of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in Washington, D.C., is the final coin in the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Program.

“The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin design evokes the historical challenges of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency,” said United States Mint Director Ed Moy. “The image of an incomplete U.S. Capitol symbolizes the unfinished business of a Nation torn apart by slavery and the Civil War.”

Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, and Eileen R. Mackevich, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, joined in the ceremonial launch. Following the ceremony, adults exchanged their currency for two to six rolls of 2009 Lincoln “Presidency” Bicentennial One-Cent Coins. Children ages 18 and younger received a newly minted one-cent coin to commemorate the event.

The reverse of the 2009 Lincoln “Presidency” Bicentennial One-Cent Coin features the partially completed U.S. Capitol dome, symbolizing Lincoln’s resolve as he guided the country through its gravest crisis. Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and ONE CENT. The coin’s obverse (heads side) features sculptor Victor David Brenner’s familiar image of President Lincoln, which debuted in 1909. Inscriptions on the obverse are IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY and 2009.
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Last Coin in Series Honors Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency

The public is invited to join United States Mint Director Ed Moy at a special ceremony to launch the final coin in the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coin Program, honoring Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in Washington, D.C. The ceremony will take place 10 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) Thursday, November 12, at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Statue located below the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Invited guests include Dr. Donald Kennon, Chief Historian of the U. S. Capitol Historical Society, and Eileen Mackevich, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Children 18 years and younger will receive a new “Presidency” Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin to commemorate the event. The news media are welcome to attend.

The design selected for aspect four of Lincoln’s life features the half-finished United States Capitol dome, symbolizing a Nation torn apart by civil war and the resolve Lincoln showed as he guided the country through its most grave crisis. .

The coin’s obverse (heads) continues to bear Victor David Brenner’s familiar likeness of Lincoln.

Following the ceremony, the public can exchange their currency-while supplies last-for a minimum of two rolls and up to six rolls of coins bearing the new Lincoln “Presidency” design. (Limits are subject to change.)

As authorized by law, the United States Mint has issued a series of four pennies this year to honor the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent. The coins’ reverse (tails side) design reflects four different aspects, or themes, of President Lincoln’s life: his birth and early childhood in Kentucky; his formative years in Indiana; his professional life in Illinois; and his presidency in Washington, D.C. The obverse (heads side) of the coins continues to feature Victor David Brenner’s likeness of President Lincoln that has graced the coin since 1909.
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President Obama today presented former U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III with the Congressional Gold Medal for his unprecedented and enduring service to the Nation. The ceremony was held in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The Congressional Gold Medal, designed and struck by the United States Mint, honors Senator Brooke’s pioneering accomplishments in public service. Senator Brooke broke new ground at a time when few African-Americans held state or Federal office. He was the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, serving with distinction for two terms, from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1979. During his first term, Brooke was appointed to the President’s Commission on Civil Disorders, where his work on discrimination in housing served as the basis for the 1968 Civil Rights Act.

Brooke began his career in public service as chairman of the Boston Finance Commission, where he established an outstanding record of confronting and eliminating graft and corruption. He proposed groundbreaking legislation for consumer protection and against housing discrimination and air pollution, and made state and national history in 1962 when he was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts. He also served in the U.S. Army’s segregated 366th Infantry Regiment during World War II, attaining the rank of captain, and receiving a Bronze Star.

The medal’s obverse (heads side), designed and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart, features an image of the senator with the inscription EDWARD WILLIAM BROOKE on the right side. The medal’s reverse (tails side) depicts the U.S. Capitol Building at the top and the Massachusetts State House at the bottom between two olive branches. The center of the design showcases the inscription AMERICA’S GREATNESS LIES IN ITS WONDROUS DIVERSITY, OUR MAGNIFICENT PLURALISM HAS MADE THIS COUNTRY GREAT, OUR EVER-WIDENING DIVERSITY WILL KEEP US GREAT. Additional inscriptions on the reverse are ACT OF CONGRESS 2008 and MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE. United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill designed and sculpted the medal’s reverse.
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