NGC has received a number of the new 2010 cents for certification.

The numismatic press recently announced that the new 2010 cents having a shield reverse were inexplicably released in Puerto Rico in advance of their scheduled February release date. NGC has received a number of these for certification, and the novelty of these coins makes them worthy of comment. The obverse remains unchanged from recent years, with the exception of some sharpening of the initials “VDB” at the truncation of Lincoln’s bust. The reverse has been replaced entirely, representing a retirement of the 50-year-old Lincoln Memorial design and last year’s four commemorative types. In their place is a Union shield of thirteen vertical stripes topped by a chief bearing the incuse legend E PLURIBUS UNUM. The value ONE CENT is inscribed in relief on a banner superimposed across the vertical stripes. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appears around the upper periphery in raised letters, while the initials “LB” of the designer (Lyndall Bass) and “JLM” of the sculptor (Joseph Menna) are beneath the banner at either side of the shield.

This design is not entirely original, as it closely resembles pattern cents designed and sculpted by Charles E. Barber in 1896 (numbers J-1767 through 1769 in the Judd pattern book). Unlike the originals, however, the new 2010 cents omit the traditional visual language of heraldry in which white stripes are represented by a plain texture, red stripes are represented by fine, vertical lines within them and the blue chief is represented by horizontal lines. The new cent has the “red” stripes in faintly higher relief that is observable only with close examination, while the chief is not colored heraldically at all. The impression is thus given that the entire shield is of a single color, the lack of distinction being particularly egregious with respect to the stripes. (more…)

The United States Mint announced the new design that Americans will see on the reverse (tails side) of Native American $1 Coins next year.

The design, based on the theme “Government – The Great Tree of Peace,” depicts the Hiawatha Belt with five arrows bound together, with the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, $1, Haudenosaunee and Great Law of Peace. The United States Mint will commence issuing these coins in January 2010, and they will be available throughout 2010.

The Hiawatha Belt is a visual record of the creation of the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, with five symbols representing the five original Nations. The central figure on the belt, the Great White Pine, represents the Onondaga Nation with the four square symbols representing the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca Nations. The bundle of arrows symbolizes strength in unity for the Iroquois Confederacy. The design is by Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Thomas Cleveland.

Featured on the obverse (heads side) of the 2010 Native American $1 Coin is the familiar “Sacagawea” design by sculptor Glenna Goodacre, first produced in 2000. Inscriptions on the obverse are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. Like the Presidential $1 Coins, the Native American $1 Coins are minted in the distinctive golden color with the year, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM edge-lettered on the rim.

Authorized by the Native American $1 Coin Act (Act) (Public Law 110-82), the United States Mint is minting and issuing the $1 coins to recognize Native Americans for their contributions to the development and history of the United States. The agency will issue the coins to the maximum extent practicable, in the chronological order in which the Native Americans depicted lived or the events commemorated occurred, until the end of the Presidential $1 Coin Program. (more…)

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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