Lincoln Professional Life Cent Illinois cent pennies us mint sales

Lincoln Coin Sales Two-roll set sales of the 2009 Lincoln Professional Life Cent hummed strongly between their launch in Springfield, Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 13, and Sunday, Aug. 16.

The United States Mint reported that 152,146 two-roll sets were purchased by collectors. That is more than 15.2 million pennies. And with sets priced at $8.95 each, a tidy $1.36 million dollar revenue intake for the US Mint.

Perhaps more interesting is that initial sales are higher than the first redesigned penny but lower than the second. For the latter, during the same inaugural timeframe, two-roll Lincoln Rail Splitter sales hit 200,055.

The excitement level seemed nearly equal between the second and third launches. But initial Rail Splitter sales were certainly helped by the first Log Cabin design. Why? Within two weeks, the Mint stopped selling them when their set total reached 96,000. That completely caught collectors off guard. It led to the thinking that the next Rail Splitter design would be "stopped early" too, creating a buzz to buy.

When that did not happen, a mental shift occurred. Urgency retreated as a change in Mint policy was realized. Collectors do not expect an early sales shut off for the latest penny. That has reduced urgency and even some interest.

As an interesting side note, the US Mint stopped selling Lincoln Rail Splitter rolls last week. Final figures were set at 300,00, which may suggest that the Mint will cap rolls of the third and fourth penny designs at 300,000 as well.

For more information on the latest rolls and how to order, read Lincoln Penny Rolls: Professional Life in Illinois.

Rolls of the Lincoln Professional Life pennies are already in the secondary market, with those exchanged at the launch ceremony currently receiving handsome premiums.