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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;WingedLiberty, post: 1535484, member: 26030&quot;]<font size="4"><b>Memorials !!!!&nbsp;&nbsp; <font size="2">(Introduction of the Memorial Lincoln Cent)</font></b></font><font size="2"></font></p><p><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p>In 1959, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent, (which coincided with the sesquicentennial of Lincoln&#039;s birth,) the U.S. Mint gave in to popular pressure and created a new reverse design. Beginning in 1959, the reverse side of the Lincoln Cent was changed from the classic Wheat Ear design to a design that featured the Lincoln Memorial building. The year 1959 also began a 6 year run of Memorial-backed Proof Lincoln Cents, from 1959 through 1964. Production of Mirror Proof Lincoln Cents was halted (for a second time, after the 1943-1949 gap) in late 1964 due to the &quot;Great Small Change Crisis of 1964&quot;, which grew progressively worse as the year wore on.&nbsp; The U.S. government blamed this small change shortage on coin collectors (which is why proof coins and mintmarked coins ended after 1964 (through 1967); but the truth was -- the word was out that 90% silver coinage was ending after 1964, and the general public was hoarding silver along with other smaller denomination coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The World in 1959</b></p><p><br /></p><p>The world in 1959 was being impacted by the later stages of the huge baby boom (1946 to 1964) and the space race. Television was becoming a powerful industry launching such highly popular shows as Bonanza, Rawhide, The Donna Reed Show, and The Twilight Zone. It&#039;s interesting that the show Dennis the Menace, also launched in 1959, actually promoted coin collecting in a number of their episodes. Some other noteworthy events of 1959: Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union and became the 49th and 50th states, Mattel&#039;s Barbie Doll was launched, the Boeing 707 Jet Airliner came into service, first known human with HIV died in the Congo, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. Some average national prices of common items in 1959: a new house $12,000, a new car $2,000, movie ticket $1, nylon stockings $1, a gallon of gas 25 cents. Average wages in the U.S. were $5,000 annually. </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://mindstar.com/cointalk_photos/RI_1959LincRaw1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="https://mindstar.com/cointalk_photos/RI_1959LincRaw2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>1959 Cadillac Eldorado.</b>&nbsp; Now you tell me that this doesn&#039;t look like a rocket ship!&nbsp; The large fins are unmistakeably rocket-like and the conical taillights actually look like a rocket flame.&nbsp; Blast Off!!!</p><p><img src="https://mindstar.com/cointalk_photos/1959_cadillac_eldorado.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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