Carl Sandburg knew the value of a penny from the time he was a very small child. He once made an unauthorized charge for some candy at the Swan H. Olson grocery store. His father made clear the price of the candy had taken food out of the mouths of other family members.

The one cent coin produced by the United States Mint between 1859 and 1909 was called the Indian Head penny. A Native American female was depicted as “Liberty” wearing a feathered headdress. The word Liberty appeared on the headband.

In 1909 a new one cent piece was introduced in honor of the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. President Theodore Roosevelt felt U.S. coinage was uninspiring. He had hoped the sculptor August Saint-Gaudens would design a new set of coins. Unfortunately, Saint-Gaudens died before the work could be completed.

Roosevelt had seen a bronze bas relief plaque created by Victor David Brenner, a Lithuanian-born Jewish immigrant. Brenner had used a Matthew Brady photograph as the inspiration for his portrait of Lincoln. Some modifications were necessary for the actual stamping of the coins.

There was some controversy as Americans were unaccustomed to seeing the image of a real person, living or dead, on their coins. But Lincoln had become so revered after the Civil War that the new penny became very popular.

On July, 9,1909, production of the new penny began at the Mint in Philadelphia. Circulation of the new cent began August 2nd in New York City. People stood in line at banks to acquire the coins. The going rate of barter was three pennies for a nickel. The Mint had struck 25 million of the pennies before releasing them to the public. The penny was made of 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc and tin.

On the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in 1959, the reverse of the coin was changed. The Lincoln Memorial replaced the wheat design. The statue of Lincoln can be seen inside the monument if one uses a magnifying glass.

On the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in 2009, a series of four new designs for the reverse side of the penny were introduced. They denote his birth and childhood in Kentucky, youth in Indiana, professional life in Illinois and his presidency in Washington. The Brenner profile of Lincoln will continue to appear on the obverse side of the coin.

The U.S. Mint produces 13 million pennies a year. The coins are made of 97.5 percent zinc with a copper coating. As metal prices have risen in recent years the cost of producing the pennies has increased. The government no longer makes a profit on each penny. There are some who argue that the penny should be discontinued. There are 130 billion one-cent pieces in circulation (or in dresser drawers) across the nation. The common copper is everywhere.

A good many pennies arrive at the Carl Sandburg State Historic Site every January. Traditionally, fourth grade students in Knox County collect pennies for maintenance and improvements at the Site in honor of Carl Sandburg’s January 6th birthday.