">">

The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner as was the reverse.In January 1909, the Mint engaged Brenner to design a cent depicting the late president Abraham Lincoln , 1909 being the Centennial year of his birth. Brenner's initials (VDB), on the reverse at its base, were deemed too prominent once the coins were issued, and were removed within days of the release. The initials were restored, this time smaller, on Lincoln's shoulder in 1918. Brenner's reverse was replaced in 1959 by a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial designed by Frank Gasparro for the sesquicentennial of his birth year.

">">


To help the war effort the cent was made of steel for one year in 1943.