2009 Lincoln Cent Rolls from the US Mint

Is the 2009 Lincoln Cent Mania coming to an end? The US Mint has quietly added 2009 Lincoln Cent Two-Roll Set offerings to their scheduled products listing.

The following were added to the schedule yesterday with the corresponding release dates:

Lincoln Cent Birthplace Roll Set	3/13/2009
Lincoln Cent Formative Years Roll Set	Spring
Lincoln Cent Professional Life Roll Set	Summer
Lincoln Cent Presidency Roll Set	Winter

Specific details for the Lincoln Penny rolls have not yet been released. Presumably each set would include one roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one roll from the Denver Mint in custom US Mint wrappers. It seems likely that the coins contained in the rolls would be the regular zinc versions also struck for circulation. So far, the US Mint has stated that the bronze (or 95% copper) collectors versions would only be included in the 2009 annual sets and 2009 Lincoln Five Coin Set.


Pricing for the two roll sets has also not yet been announced. The price for the two roll nickel sets released in prior years was $8.95 for $4 face value of coins. The two roll penny sets would likely be priced below that level.

The release dates for the next three 2009 Lincoln Cent releases are listed only with seasonal dates, but hopefully the US Mint will be able to coordinate the offerings with the launch dates into circulation. I listed the tentative Lincoln Penny Release Dates previously.

Roll set offerings usually begin on the same day the coins are officially launched into circulation. In this case, the first roll set is a month late. The US Mint initially did not intend to offer roll sets for the 2009 Lincoln Cents. They only decided to put together an offering after it became apparent that circulation of the new coins through normal channels would be delayed.

Hopefully this offering will put a ceiling on some of the ridiculous prices that were being paid for the coins on eBay. At the time of writing this post, prices already seem to have come down quite a bit.