A Few Appropriate Remarks

Lincoln Cent on Dime Double Denomination

The US Mint occasionally strikes a coin that does not follow the route into general circulation but instead gets routed back into the strike of a different denomination. The result is always weird and sometimes beautiful--"striking," even!

Such is the case of two Lincoln cents struck on Roosevelt dimes on eBay. One is still for sale; the other just sold via auction.

This 1993 P penny-dime started as a dime before it was double-struck as a Lincoln cent. It is a Mint error that is graded MS 67 by NGC. The oak branch and torch on the back of the dime are evident on Abraham Lincoln's head and beard.

Turning the Lincoln Memorial on its side makes it easier to see the silhouette of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

see original eBay listing

It is listed for $1195 or best offer by eBay seller dempseyandbaxter.

On Valentine's Day, a gorgeous 1990 P Lincoln penny strike on a dime sold via eBay auction for $857.98. The listing by sullivannumismatics started for 99 cents and attracted 23 bids from 14 bidders. This 1990 Lincoln cent on a Roosevelt dim was graded an MS 64 by PCGS.

Like the 1993 MS 67 double-denomination coin, the back of the dime is evident on Lincoln's face. Here, the oak branch and the olive branch can be seen.

And once again turning the Lincoln Memorial on its side, it's easy to see Roosevelt's silhouette.

see original eBay listing

The grade and the picture of the first coin make it obvious that the strike is much better on that coin than on the second. However, the leaves on Abraham Lincoln's face in the second double-denomination coin make that coin quite beautiful.

Four 2009 Stamps Honor Lincoln's Bicentennial Birthday

Rail-splitter, lawyer, politician, president.

These 2009 stamps from the U.S. Postal Service are featured in the Spring 2009 USA Philatelic catalog that was in my mailbox today. To be issued February 9, 2009, at Springfield, Illinois, the stamps feature a scratchboard design by artist Mark Summers.

I can see I'll be spending a lot of money on everything from the Ceremony Program to a nice Commemoration Folio that folds out into a "broadside" of the Gettysburg Address.

Wow, how did he make that portrait out of pennies?

Fanpop.com has this great time-lapsed video showing a guy making a portrait of Lincoln out of pennies. Sorting 1700 pennies by color took about seven hours, and putting them together in awesome fashion took nearly six hours. Check it out here. It takes under a minute to view it, and it's worth every penny of your time, and then some!

Lincoln Dollar Coin in 2010

Ah! More free money for the mint! I know I'll be collecting the Lincoln dollars...

Just noticed this from the US Mint. Those "golden dollar" coins are making a comeback, reincarnated as presidential dollars: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/index.cfm

Similar to the state quarters program, which issues quarters by order of admittance to the Union, the presidential dollars will make their debut according to order of presidential term. We'll see an Abraham Lincoln dollar in 2010.

 

1909 Lincoln 2-Cent Stamp

I like stamps. Actually, I like the history pictured by stamps. Seeing those pictures makes me want to learn more about the event/person pictured. Obviously, it's Lincoln that's pictured...do you know where the picture comes from?

In January 1909, Rep. Albert F. Dawson of Iowa introduced a joint resolution for a set of Lincoln stamps to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Lincoln's birth. Because of the time constraint (the birthday being just a month away), Dawson's proposal was pared down to a single Lincoln postage stamp of a 2 cent denomination. Bureau of Engraving and Printing artist C. A. Huston worked on the design, taking the frame of the then current 2-cent stamp, adding a drawing of ribbons and a centennial inscription, and the inserted a photograph of a plaster cast made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. There was a lot of flack at the time because the denomination was spelled out in alpha characters rather than using the traditional numeric format.

The stamp was not to go on sale before February 12, 1909, but many post offices released them before that time so earlier post marks are known to exist. (For you collectors: this is Scott 368.)