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mintage figures
Philadelphia : 609,715,000
mintage classification : URS-31
population in circulation : 41
circulation classification : URS-7
percentage of circulation : 0.82%
Denver : 1,279,760,000
mintage classification : URS-32
population in circulation : 64
circulation classification : URS-7
percentage of circulation : 1.28%
Philadelphia (proof) : 1,149,291
mintage classification : URS-22
Total : 1,890,624,291
grading notes
Did You Know?
  

quick links
  • Alaska joins the union as the 49th state on January 3, and Hawaii joins the union as the 50th state on the 21st of August.
  • NASA tells Congress that its space profram should place a man on the moon within ten years. On April 9th they select the first seven "astronauts" to begin training.
  • The St. Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean opens on April 25th, and is dedicated by President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II in June.
  • On August 8th, the first picture of the Earth from outer space is transmitted to the Earth and broadcast on television.
  • The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is opened in New York City.
  • The 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth is marked by an address of poet Carl Sandburg before the US congress on February 12th. This anniversary also inspires Congress to solicit the help of Assistant Engraver Frank Gasparro to redesign the reverse of the Lincoln Cent bringing an end to the 50 year old "wheat" design by the Lincoln Cent's original designer Victor D. Brenner.
Specific notes about this year's cents...

  • This is the first year of the Lincoln Memorial reverse design of the cent. This design change brings collectors and dealers to hoard uncirculated specimens of the wheat designs from the past few years creating a glut in uncirculated rolls dating 1956-1958, which is still felt today.
  • 1959 cents tend to have the same obverse flaws and problems as previous years regarding details such as "IN GOD WE TRUST" not fully striking and bleeding in with the rim. This is because the same master engraving is used for production as 1956,1957, and 1958. The new reverse design, on the other hand, tends to be remarkably clean and free of defects despite commonplace first year problems faced in most issues.
  • Most guides tend not to list a rare variety from this year, a 1959 cent with a wheat reverse, because only one specimen is known to exist. This cent was found in Walnut Creek, California in 1986 by a person who had collected cents in jars for years. The cent was deemed genuine after microscopic examination by the Treasury Department, but inconclusive decisions were made regarding this coin by both the ANA and INS.The last known sale of this coin was for $22,000 in 1992.
 

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