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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A Hat fit for a Prince The Crown of an Austrian Archduke

The second 100 Euro coin in the gold series “Crowns of the House of Habsburg” will be released on Wednesday, 4th November. It is dedicated to the so-called “Archduke’s Hat”, a name derived from the red velvet cap within the crown itself.

The title of archduke was invented by Rudolf IV in the spurious document of 1358/59 called the privilegium maius. It was an attempt to assert the status of the House of Habsburg as the equal of any Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. There exists a mediaeval portrait of Rudolf wearing a crown similar to the Archduke’s Hat. Early versions of the crown have not survived, being either broken up or melted down. In 1616, however, Archduke Maximilian III of Tyrol had the present Archduke’s Hat fashioned and he gave it to the Augustinian Abbey of Klosterneuburg just outside Vienna in honour of St. Leopold, whose tomb and shrine are still situated there to this day. The crown was not worn as such. There was no coronation. It was rather a symbol of authority and rank. It was brought into Vienna only for the ceremony of homage paid by the Estates of Lower Austria on the accession of a new Habsburg ruler. Even today the crown is not permitted to be outside the walls of the abbey for more than 30 days at a time.

The Archduke’s Hat is a diadem of eight golden peaks decorated with enamel, pearls and precious stones. Two pearl encrusted arches hold a sapphire mounted by a cross at their intersection. In the crown itself is a red velvet cap and the diadem is embedded in a circle of ermine, copying the hats worn by the Prince Electors. On the accession of a new ruler the crown was brought in procession into Vienna, conveyed in its own sedan chair. Along with other pieces of regalia such as orb and sceptre, it was presented to the new ruler and then carried in solemn procession from the palace to St. Stephen’s Cathedral for High Mass. (more…)