Obverse · Abraham Lincoln
The obverse carries Victor David Brenner's portrait of Abraham Lincoln, introduced on the cent in 1909, with LIBERTY, the date and IN GOD WE TRUST.
Reverse · Lincoln Memorial
The reverse shows the Lincoln Memorial. The U.S. Mint identifies Frank Gasparro as the designer of the Memorial reverse used from 1959 through 2008.
1982 Composition Transition
The U.S. Mint timeline records that the cent changed to copper-plated zinc in 1982. This archive therefore treats 1982 as a transition year and does not convert combined 1982 catalogue totals into an invented zinc-only production figure.
Mint-Mark Context
Circulating cents of this period use no mint mark or D, while San Francisco S entries in the supplied table are Proof issues. The U.S. Mint confirms that West Point produced pennies from 1973 through 1986 without mint marks, so those pieces cannot be distinguished from Philadelphia by mint mark alone.
Year-Specific Note
The U.S. Mint states that West Point produced pennies from 1973 through 1986 without mint marks, making those pieces indistinguishable from Philadelphia no-mint-mark cents.
Year-Specific Note
Numista lists a Doubled Die Reverse variety whose mintage is included with the 1983 no-mint-mark issue.
Archive Note
No Numista, PCGS or other third-party coin image is reproduced on this page. U.S. Mint material is used as the primary authority for the Lincoln penny design history, the 1982 composition change, modern cent specifications and mint-mark context. Detailed annual mintages and catalogue varieties are identified separately as Numista secondary data.