Abraham Lincoln on the Penny. The profile view of Abraham Lincoln first showed up on the front of the one-cent piece in 1909—nearly 120 years after the first U.S. penny was minted, and 44 years after he was assassinated. Lincoln served as our 16th president during the Civil War. He oversaw Union efforts to defeat the Confederacy, and he subsequently pushed for the abolition of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Thomas Jefferson on the Nickel. The likeness of Thomas Jefferson, our third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, debuted on the country’s five-cent coin in 1938. This five-cent coin replaced the Buffalo nickel. The U.S. Mint issued the Jefferson nickel five years before the bicentennial of his birth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Dime. The likeness of Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd president, replaced the image of Lady Liberty on the 10-cent coin in 1946. That was a year after FDR died. FDR served the U.S. during two of our toughest times, the Great Depression and World War II. Accomplishments during his tenure include the New Deal, a series of government reforms designed to help pull the U.S. out of the Great Depression. A key component of the New Deal was the Social Security program.
George Washington on the Quarter-Dollar. A portrait of George Washington, our first president, graces the front of the U.S. 25-cent coin. The U.S. Mint first produced the Washington quarter in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth. According to CoinWeek, sculptor John Flanagan designed the iconic image of Washington.
John F. Kennedy on the Half-Dollar. A coin representing John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, was conceived the day of his assassination, according to the National Museum of American History. JFK was shot to death on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in a motorcade in Dallas.