Four new pennies being released

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, the U.S. Mint is planning to release four new Lincoln pennies this year, though given the rising price of zinc and copper it actually costs about 1.4 cents to make a penny.

Abraham Lincoln's penny has been around since 1909, when it was inaugurated with several firsts. It was the first U.S. coin to include the words "In God We Trust," and the first to include a portrait. "A strong feeling had prevailed against using portraits on our coins," said a Treasury Department fact sheet, "but public sentiment stemming from the 100th anniversary celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth proved stronger than the long-standing prejudice."

The first penny depicts the one-room log cabin in Kentucky where Lincoln was born, and is already in circulation. The second shows Lincoln as a rail splitter in Indiana, and should start moving into circulation in mid-May. The third, due out in August, shows him reporting to work at the Illinois Legislature, and the fourth penny, due in November, depicts the U.S. Capitol without its dome -- a symbol of the civil war that divided the nation when he was president.