2009-S *B R O N Z E* PROOF LINCOLN CENT SET- 1909 ORIGINAL METAL COMPOSITION ¢

Description

2009-S U.S. MINT FOUR COIN LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL PROOF SET
These coins are
GEM FROSTED PROOFS in ORIGINAL BRONZE
!
THIS SET CONTAINS THE
FOUR DIFFERENT REVERSE DESIGNS
OF
LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE CENTS
THAT
WERE MINTED IN A SINGLE YEAR ONLY (2009), MARKING THE
END OF THE FAMILIAR LINCOLN MEMORIAL REVERSE, AND
THE BEGINNING OF THE NOW USED SHIELD REVERSE DESIGN.
More 2009 Cent Info:
Many people are surprised to hear that
PROOF and UNCIRCULATED
SET Lincoln cents minted in 2009 are composed of 95% copper and
5% tin and zinc.
T
hey were struck in this alloy t
o mirror and honor the
original
1909 Lincoln Cent composition.
Only the 2009 PROOF and
UNCIRCULATED
SET cents are of this bronze composition.
* >>> ONLY 2,995,615 OF THESE PROOF CENT SETS WERE MADE <<<
This means that
only 2,995,615
of each PROOF TYPE reverse design
exists!  (Comparable to the 1924 D Lincoln Cent mintage of 2,520,000,
valued by its rarity at to 0 **today.)
In order to complete a 2009 Lincoln cent type set, all four
designs, in both zinc
and bronze compositions, must be assembled.
This means that in order to
build
just a
2009 Lincoln Cent Type Set
,
one must have 20 different Lincoln
Cents:
(4) PROOF San Francisco Reverse Design Cents
(4) Denver Uncirculated Set Satin Finish Cents
(4) Philadelphia Uncirculated Set Satin Finish Cents
(4) ZINC Denver Business Circulation Strike Cents
(4) ZINC Philadelphia Business Circulation Strike Cents
**"Business strike" cents
struck on copper-plated zinc planchets (blanks)
have been struck in every year since 1982, including 2009.  There were
many hundreds of millions more of the copper-plated zinc cents minted
for general circulation compared to the low number of these remarkable
SINGLE YEAR ONLY 2009
BRONZE LINCOLN PROOF CENTS!
Remember that these four coins are PROOF, not a condition like "VERY
FINE", but a process used by the Mint to achieve a mirror-like finish on
the background, with early strikes having a "frosted" or matte foreground.
They were issued for collectors to purchase from the Mint in 2009 only,
and they are much rarer than the **"Business" strikes.
The Lincoln Birth Bicentennial was celebrated all year with the quarterly
releases of the four reverse side designs in 2009. They are as follows:
The first reverse design showed the humble
log cabin
where Abraham Lincoln
was born in
1809
.  There is a long-time controversy about exactly where
Lincoln's
birthplace
home was situated, and several states still vie for bragging
rights.  It is known as the
"Early Childhood" (EC)
reverse design.
The second release was the "
Formative Years" (FY
) reverse, showing Abe
taking
a break from log splitting, a job which employed his amazing strength
to earn his family a wage, and to be able to read what's most likely
a classic
or a law
book through the
1820
's.
Third came the
"Professional Life" (PL)
reverse showing Lincoln standing in
front
of the old Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield, where young Abe
Lincoln established a successful law practice, leading him into
1850
's politics.
The fourth and final reverse design was the
"President in Washington" (PW)
.  It
shows the
yet unfinished Capitol rotunda with scaffolding and beams to move
the heavy
iron plates first used to build the dome.  This was the stage of completion
in
1861
during Lincoln's first inaugural.
Addressing congress, it is said that Abe once spoke "
It is better to remain silent,
and
be thought of as a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt
!"
As many numismatists have found, the **current composition of the Lincoln cent causes
the coins to degrade much faster than the 1909 and 2009 bronze composition, especially
if the coin has been in acidic soil.  With the right dielectric, zinc and copper make a natural
battery!  This is why you see so many not so old post-1982 cents with bubbles and corrosion
spots
on them.  The 95% copper cents have aged well since 1909, with much less showing the
massive corrosion that the contemporary cents do.
It is likely that Congress may one day eliminate the lowly cent from circulating money in the future,
especially if inflation is a factor.  Cents are hardly exchanged anymore, and thankful coin-searchers
are very grateful for this.  If you've ever searched a bank roll of pennies, then you know just how
hard it is to find any rare 2009 Lincoln Cent these days.
This is your opportunity to get a wonderful set commemorating Lincoln's life, his amazing and
successful career as lawyer and Congressman, and then President during the most consequential
time in American history.
"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in."
* Data from "
An Introduction to 2009 Lincoln Cent Errors
" by James A. Porter @ 2013
**The  2009
cents struck by the Mint for
general circulation
(business
strikes),
are composed of 95% zinc and 5% tin and copper
, the same
metal percentages as today's cents.