On Apr 14, 10:59*am, "Arizona Coin Collector"
wrote:
FROM:http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...4-13-new-penny...
New penny's slow start in circulation increases value
By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY
The penny, often picked on for its piddly value, has found
some self worth in 2009.
The 2009 Lincoln cent - slow to spread into consumers'
pockets - is being sold for big bucks. Single coins have
fetched more than $1 each. Fifty-cent rolls have frequently
ranged from $2 to more than $50 at online auction websites.
The first of four new penny designs officially launched on
Feb. 12 - Abraham Lincoln's birthday - but the 634.8 million
coins produced by the U.S. Mint have barely made it into
circulation.
(IMAGE OF PENNY)http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/...nnyx-large.jpg
The new penny sports a log cabin on its tails side.
Three more designs are coming
The penny distribution "is slow-going," says Mint spokesman
Greg Hernandez. "Because of the downturn and the lower demand
for coins (for business transactions), banks are not
demanding as many coins," he says. "As a result, the Federal
Reserve has a pretty large inventory."
The sense of rarity has made the coin seem much more valuable,
says Dave Harper, editor of Numismatic News.
Four variations of the new Lincoln penny will be introduced
into circulation this year. The heads side continues the
familiar image of Lincoln's profile. The tails side features
one of four different aspects of the 16th president's life.
The initial coin shows a log cabin to represent his
Hodgenville, Ky., birthplace. The next designs, scheduled for
release in approximately three-month intervals, will depict
his early years in southern Indiana, his career in Illinois
and his presidential term in Washington, D.C.
The former tails design, in use for 50 years, shows the
Lincoln Memorial.
The new coins are in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday and
the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln penny's introduction.
The Mint also produced a specially wrapped, two-roll set of
the circulating log-cabin pennies. They were priced at $8.95
plus $4.95 for shipping and handling. The Mint sold out at
96,000 sets.
The penny's shortage has helped coin sellers such as Sonna
Young. She scooped up about $75 worth when she went to a
Hodgenville ceremony that celebrated the cent's debut.
"Our primary reason for going was to get some rolls of
pennies," she says. She's sold rolls from $6.95 to more
than $50 on eBay.
But sales may soon slow as the pennies become more
prevalent. The new pennies are "making their way out into
the economy," says Hernandez, and people are getting them
in change during purchases.
..
Got these at my bank yesterday. a href="http://s283.photobucket.com/
albums/kk291/sgt23_2008/?action=view¤t=009.jpg"
target="_blank"img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk291/
sgt23_2008/009.jpg" border="0" alt="2009 Log Cabin Lincoln Cents."/a