Celebrating President Lincoln’s 200th Birthday
Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, becoming the first Republican president. His victory led most slaveholding states to secede and create the Confederate States of America. A month after Lincoln took office, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War.
As the bicentennial of President Lincoln’s birthday approached in 2009, Congress wanted to honor our 16th President, the man who led us through the Civil War and played a major role in abolishing slavery in the United States. In 2009, Congress authorized four designs for the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cents, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln penny and Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday. Along with the pennies, Congress also authorized the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar.
Design Details
The obverse of the Commemorative Silver Dollar was designed by Justin Kunz and sculpted by Don Everhart, and features a portrait of President Lincoln, facing right. To the left of Lincoln’s bust are the words “IN GOD WE TRUST”, and to the right is “LIBERTY”, and the date of issue “2009”. The mint mark is also present.
The reverse of this coin was designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. It features a portion of Lincoln’s most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg in November 1863. The final verse of that address is well-known by most Americans and states:
“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The entire excerpt of his Address is surrounded by a laurel wreath. The upper periphery bears the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, and there is a banner beneath the wreath. The banner has a facsimile signature of Lincoln in the center, “ONE DOLLAR” to the left, and “E PLURIBUS UNUM” to the right.
(A 2009-P Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar, Uncirculated, Obverse [left], Reverse [right].)
(A 2009-P Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar, Proof, Obverse [left], Reverse [right].)
Distribution Details
The coins were struck in both uncirculated and proof finishes at the Philadelphia Mint. They were offered individually, and the uncirculated coin was also packaged into an educational set, enclosed in a tri-fold package.
Congress had authorized a total of 500,000 coins across all types. Of the 450,000 coins allocated to individual sales, all were sold, which was unusual for commemorative coinage. The proof version of the silver dollar was also packaged in a Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set, along with all four of the Proof Lincoln Cents from 2009 with differing reverses, a reproduction of the Gettysburg Address, and a portrait of President Lincoln. All 50,000 of these sets sold out.
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