It's interesting to view the Lincoln cent through the eyes of a graphic designer. http://gizmodo.com/thoughts-for-your-penny-the-one-cent-piece-is-worth-a-1566624127
I didn't realize Lincoln was the first real person to be depicted on a U.S. coin. Guess you learn something new every day.
I absolutely LOVE this article. My favorite part of coin collecting is finding the various obverse and reverse die varieties, mintmark fonts, etc. I have Lincoln type set, that, to date, I found that there are at least 66 type of Lincolns. There are at least 17 different fonts for each of the "S" and "D" mintmarks. 1946 alone has three S's, and 1952 has three D's. My bet is that a mint state 1928-Large S will be the toughest one to get.
Perhaps you Lincoln variety experts can clear up some of my confusion. The writer of the article uses this image to illustrate the difference between the 1909 figures that have "awkward shapes and erratic spacing, and the the motto that got fixed sixty years later... Would the square rim on the top coin indicate that it's a proof? The lettering is indeed awkward, but could that be attributed to wear? The reason I ask is that most of the 1909 issues that I've seen look more like the second coin, including the one I own...
<snip Perhaps you Lincoln variety experts can clear up some of my confusion. The writer of the article uses this image to illustrate the difference between the 1909 figures that have "awkward shapes and erratic spacing, and the the motto that got fixed sixty years later... unsnip> My bet is that the upper coin is A) a much more worn specimen, or B) not a 1909. The hair is not nearly as detailed on the upper coin which could b either A or B. Alternatively, the upper coin is from a much later period . If I recall correctly, they used the same master hub until 1969, by which time most of the detail was gone. Based on the shape of the "W" in "We", I wouldn't be surprised if the upper coin was actually a 50's era coin.
I didn't read the article, but Lincoln was not the first real person to be depicted on a US Coin. There were others on commemoratives as Torontokuba mentioned. I guess you can make the argument that he was the first "real" person to be depicted on a coin intended for circulation.
I liked one of the commenters to the article. The one that explained that there was a 1/4th cent and a 1/2 cent as well. Now that's funny...........
