Wheat Pennies
After learning of Lincoln's assassination, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton remarked: "Now he belongs to the ages." It seems appropriate that Lincoln's image would be the first real person, let alone a US President, to appear on a US issue coin.
It was President Roosevelt's idea to place Lincoln's image on the one cent coin, which was then designed by Victor David Brenner. The preceding Indian Head Cent was so popular that changing the coin would normally have been unheard of, but given Lincoln's place in history, honoring the 100th anniversary of his birth by placing his image on the small cent coin was an acceptable idea.
For its first 50 years, the reverse of the Lincoln Cent contained the words "One Cent - United States of America" surrounded wheat sheaves. That is why these coins are often referred to as wheat pennies.
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