Celebrating 200 Years of Lincoln

February 12, 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln – one of the most celebrated U.S. presidents on coins, paper currency and stamps. Those who seriously collect Lincoln memorabilia have the 1860 and 1864 campaign tokens, photos and other ephemera to draw upon. Here’s an early 1860 campaign medal with a ferrotype photo of a beardless Lincoln from our Littleton Coin Company collection. The circa 1858 ferrotype by Roderick M. Cole is encased directly on the token, protected by a mica case. The reverse of the medal features a similar ferrotype photo of Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, Lincoln’s vice-presidential running mate in 1860. By the end of 2009, coin collectors will have four new Lincoln cent reverse designs to search for. Present indications are they are going to be surprisingly hard to locate, due to large Federal Reserve inventories of previously produced cents requiring relatively few of the new 2009 cents to be struck by the Philadelphia Mint and Denver Mint. A non-circulating U.S. commemorative silver dollar honoring Lincoln has also been struck in Proof and Uncirculated versions. The popularity of Abraham Lincoln continues to grow, especially during this year’s 200th anniversary of his birth and 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent series. These numismatic tributes will be a stimulus to many to explore our 16th president’s remarkable life story, and to discover how he influenced and continues to influence American history and political thought.