The Lincoln cent was first issued in 1909 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. As a mark of the nation's reverence for Lincoln, his profile has been used on all cents issued since 1909, the longest continual use of a portrait on any United States coin.

On the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, in 1959, the design on the back of the cent was changed. All cents minted since then show the majestic Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C.

Lincoln cents are made at all three US Mints. Those made in Denver have a small D mint mark beneath the date, those made in San Francisco have the letter S, and those made in Philadelphia have no mint mark.