Hobbies And Interests
Obverse Appearance
The physical appearance of the penny is its main qualitative feature. An image of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the U.S., has graced the front of the penny since 1909. Above Lincoln's head are the words "In God We Trust," and the word "Liberty" appears to the left of his head. The date the coin was minted is located directly in front of the Lincoln's chest. The mint mark (a mark that tells you where the coin was minted) appears under the date. Not all pennies have a mint mark, however.
Reverse Appearance
The reverse of the Lincoln penny has changed several times since 1909. Starting in 2010, the back of the Lincoln penny shows a picture of a shield and a banner reading "One Cent." In 2009, four different reverse designs were used: a log cabin, an image of a young Lincoln reading while seated on a log, Lincoln standing in front of the State Capitol building in Illinois and the half-finished U.S. Capitol dome. Between 1959 and 2009, an image of the Lincoln Memorial adorned the back of the penny, and from 1909 to 1959, two stalks of wheat were pictured on the back of the coin.
Color
The color of a penny is determined by the metals used to make it. The composition of the penny has been a combination of mostly copper (between 95 and 97 percent) and a little bit of zinc (between 3 and 5 percent) for the entire run of the coin, except for 1943 when the coin was composed primarily out of steel. The composition of the copper and zinc penny is responsible for its brown, coppery color. Steel pennies minted in 1943 are silvery gray in color.
Edges
Like nickels but unlike dimes and quarters, the U.S. penny has a smooth edge. This edge is raised slightly higher than the features on the faces of the coin, thus acting to protect the images stamped onto the coin faces. This raised edge is known to coin collectors as the rim of the coin.