<Tr> <Th> Designer </Th> <Td> Lyndall Bass </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Design date </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> The Lincoln cent (or sometimes called Lincoln penny) is a one - cent coin that has been struck by the United States Mint since 1909 . The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner, as was the original reverse . The coin has seen several reverse, or tails, designs and now bears one by Lyndall Bass depicting a Union shield . All coins struck by the United States government with a value of 1 / 100 of a dollar are called cents because the United States has always minted coins using decimals . The penny nickname is a carryover from the coins struck in England, which went to decimals for coins in 1971 . </P> <P> In 1905, sculptor Augustus Saint - Gaudens was hired by the Mint to redesign the cent and the four gold coins, which did not require congressional approval . Two of Saint - Gaudens's proposed designs for the cent were eventually adapted for the gold pieces, but Saint - Gaudens died in August 1907 before submitting additional designs for the cent . In January 1909, the Mint engaged Brenner to design a cent depicting the late president Abraham Lincoln, 1909 being the centennial year of his birth . It was the first widely circulating design of a U.S. president on a coin, an idea that had been seen as too monarchical in the past, namely by George Washington . Nevertheless, Brenner's design was eventually approved, and the new coins were issued to great public interest on August 2, 1909 . </P>

Who came up with the design idea for the penny