2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar Proof Coin

2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar Proof Coin, Obverse - Click to Enlarge

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 and would eventually be elected as the sixteenth President of the United States. In order to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth, the US Mint struck the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar Proof Coins.

Initially released on February 12, 2009, the silver proof coins would last only about 6 weeks before the Mint declared them sold out. In that short period of time, the allotted mintage of 325,000 were gone. An additional 50,000 were reserved to be included as a part of the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set which was due out later in the year.

When the Chronicles Set did get released on October 15, 2009, it took less than 30 hours for the Mint to declare a sell-out.

Interest and excitement over the proofs continue to be strong, and the secondary markets are still demanding a significant premium for them.

Lincoln Silver Proof Coin Design

2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar Proof Coin, Reverse - Click to enlarge

Obverse design: Justin Kunz designed the image of Abraham Lincoln portrayed on the obverse based on Daniel Chester French's famous sculpture which sits inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. It was sculpted by Don Everhart and includes the inscriptions "IN GOD WE TRUST," "LIBERTY," "2009" and the mintmark "P." The designers and sculptors initials are also present.

Reverse design: The reverse was designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill to include the last 43 words of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address within a laurel wreath - "…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Also included are the inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNIM" and "ONE DOLLAR." Lincoln's signature is seen in a banner below the speech.

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