The first emission of the Lincoln Cent debuted in August of 1909 to wide acclaim. The only fly in the ointment was a newspaper campaign against Victor D. Brenner's small initials on the coin's reverse. This had been a compromise from his original insertion of his full surname, but the greater scrutiny given to the cent as opposed to other coins compelled the Mint to cease production of this variety and produce all subsequent cents through 1917 without the designer's initials.
This issue was quite widely hoarded by both numismatists and the general public, with the result that Mint State examples are very common right up through the fully red gem level.
A couple of doubled-die obverse varieties are known.
Mintage:
| Philadelphia | San Francisco |
| 27,995,000 | 484,000 |