The Lincoln cent, minted since 1909, is a true American coinage classic. Issued to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth, it features the longest continuous use of the same basic obverse design of any United States coin.
Victor David Brenner designed the Lincoln cent featuring Lincoln's profile on the obverse and two stylized ears of wheat on the reverse. Some though Brenner's initials on the reverse were too conspicuous, so not long after the coin's release, the VDB initials were removed.
In 1959, on the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and 50th year of issue of the Lincoln cent, the design on the coin's reverse was changed. Mint engraver Frank Gasparro's new design replaced the ears of wheat with a view of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Though the coin's design has remained relatively stable over the years, the metal composition has undergone some drastic changes. The original material was bronze (copper, tin and zinc), used through 1942. The next year, 1943, saw a one-year changeover to zinc-coated steel, while cents struck in 1944 through 1946 used a material made from salvaged gun cartridge shell cases from WWII. The years 1947 to 1962 saw the resumption of the original bronze composition, followed by a slight alloy change from 1962-1982. However, a major change occurred in 1982, when the composition was altered from mostly copper (99.5%) with just a bit of zinc (0.5%), to mostly zinc (99.2%) with a touch of copper (0.8%) and an outer plating of pure copper.
