One Small Coin, No Small Furor

By Paul Malone

The release of the new Lincoln cent in August of 1909 caused great excitement. It was also the source of consternation and criticism. The New York Times reported on Aug. 6:

“Secretary of the Treasury MacVeagh has decided to stop the minting of the new Lincoln cents. New dies will be prepared as soon as possible, substituting for the initials of the designer the single initial “B” in an obscure part of the design. None of the cents issued so far will be called in, but the minting will be stopped because a sufficient supply is on hand. The initials V.D.B. are those of the designer, V. D. Brenner of New York, and the single initial will be, it is considered, a sufficient recognition of his work.

“This decision created much surprise, as the Treasury Department announced yesterday that the new coins would be in circulation for the present at least, and that the use of the initials on them was in line with a custom that had prevailed for years. This prominence, however, awakened widespread criticism, and today’s action followed further consideration of the matter.”

Apparently, the new coins had arrived in New York on Aug. 4, as the Times continued: “With the Lincoln cent craze two days old, the Sub-Treasury yesterday was cleaned out of its supply and had to send hurried calls to Washington for reinforcements. All day long, from the time the office opened, a constant string of men and boys filed into the building where the shiny little “V.D.B.” coins were being doled out in exchange for other currency.

“So great did the crush become on Pine Street, from Nassau to William Street, that the police reserves had to be called out. They were obliged eventually to establish lines at either end of the street.

“While this ‘run on the Treasury’ was going on, the news of Secretary MacVeagh’s decision to stop the minting of any more coins with the initials of the artist, Victor D. Brenner, was received. Mr. Brenner was greatly cast down when he heard of it. At his studio, at 114 East Twenty-eighth Street, he declared that a serious injustice would be done him if the Secretary’s order was carried out.

“‘If I find that this order has gone forth,’ said Mr. Brenner, ‘I shall write to Mr. MacVeagh about it. He should consult me before doing anything of this sort. It is a courtesy that is due me as the designer.’

“‘When my design was accepted by the Treasury, my full name was upon the coin. Secretary Cortelyou, with whom I had my dealings, assured me that my name should remain upon it. Mr. Leach of the Mint at Philadelphia understood this, too. When I received the first die of the coin, my name was there, just as I had engraved it. They sent me another die later, and on this my initials appeared instead of the whole name. I thought that was an exceedingly peculiar thing for them to do, but I decided to say nothing.’

“‘Now that they are going to cut down the initials to one, I feel that I have a right to object. Why should they deny this courtesy to me? On all the coins with the exception of the cent with the Indian head, the sculptor’s initials have been allowed. You will find the initials of Saint-Gaudens upon the $20 and $10 gold pieces, and those of Bela L. Pratt upon the $5 and $2.50 gold pieces. Upon the silver dollars there is the initial ‘M,’ and on all other silver coins the initial ‘B.’

“‘I am delighted,’ Mr. Brenner added, ‘that so much attention has been directed to the new cents. That pleases me, but the taking of my initials off takes half the satisfaction away.’”

Apparently, Longacre’s “L” on the Indian cents was camouflaged so well that most people didn’t know it was there, including Mr. Brenner. And reducing the “V.D.B.” to just the letter “B” never happened. The idea of placing his entire name on the coin is ridiculous, and many found the very idea offensive. The Aug. 13 issue of the Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal ran an article titled, “Maybe V.D.B. Thinks Modesty’s a Crime,” explaining, “Victor David Brenner designed the new penny. When he had done this, he lettered in his name – Victor David Brenner – in full under the Lincoln head. The name in 18 letters and the motto under the head crowded the coin too much. President Roosevelt took a hand then, and ‘In God We Trust’ was left off the coins.”

Obviously, by the time production began, “In God We Trust” had found its way back on the coin, and Mr. Brenner’s name was reduced to three letters and situated on the bottom of the reverse of the coin. (George Cortelyou was President Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Treasury. He was succeeded by President Taft’s Treasury Secretary, Franklin MacVeagh, on Inauguration Day, March 8, 1909. Frank Leach was the Director of the United States Mint from September 1907 to August of 1909. Mr. MacVeagh was under no obligation to uphold any promises made by the other two).

The new coins were a sensation. The Times continued, “Not in the history of the Sub-Treasury has there been a more feverish scramble to exchange money than has been witnessed since the Mint turned out these new cents.

“While those who sought the brilliant little coins were impelled by the expectation that the cents, if mintage was stopped, would some day be worth infinitely more than their face value, numismatic experts coldly figured that the collectors were only fooling themselves. B. L. Belden, Director of the American Numismatic Society, calculated that, possibly in twenty-five years each of the coins might be worth 5 cents. The danger of a shortage in the supply, however, had been minimized, he said, by the fact that 2,000,000 of them have been minted, and professional collectors have gathered up all they want of them.”

Mr. Belden’s estimate was 26 million short of the actual total.

“The Sub-Treasury officials early in the day found themselves overwhelmed by the crowds. They soon found it necessary to close up two of the windows facing the corridor and place on them placards reading: ‘Positively No Lincoln Pennies Here.’ Only at one window were the coins dished out, and most of those who received them stationed themselves at street corners to sell them. Three for 5 cents was the market price.”

That was cheap. The New Castle Herald reported the following on Aug. 5: “On the streets of Pittsburg yesterday the new cents sold for prices ranging from 15 cents to 25 cents apiece. One man, F. C. Mason, famous first baseman of the Grove City College ball team, bought all he could accumulate at a quarter apiece.”

Rumors of a recall persisted, though flatly denied by Treasury officials. On Aug. 15, the Indianapolis Star reported, “The most popular thing in Indianapolis nowadays is the bank that has a supply of the new Lincoln pennies. The coin arrived about a week ago, and the people of the city are divided into two groups: the few that have them, and the many that haven’t.” They continued, “A few enterprising newsboys and others came into possession of the now recalled coin, and made small fortunes, selling them for 5, 10 and 25 cents apiece. But such small sums will not buy them now, for the supply is gone.”

On Aug. 5, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran an article titled, “Lincoln Pennies May Prove Illegal and Coin Collectors Are Buying Them Up.” The text of the article contained the following: “A report that the coins might be withdrawn from circulation because of the questioned legality of the issue, with the initials of the designer upon the face of the coin, drew the coin collectors to the financial district in swarms. Not more than a dollar’s worth was given each applicant, and a premium was demanded by the possessors of the bright, new one-cent pieces in the belief that official action might result in making the coins comparatively rare. Assistant Treasurer Terry said today that his attention had been called to the matter, but that he had received no instructions from Washington to discontinue the distribution of the pennies.”

Then came reports that the new cents would not work in vending machines. The rims of the Lincoln cents were higher than those of its predecessor, the Indian cent. The same article in the above-mentioned Cincinnati Enquirer added, “Slot machine men are disgruntled because, they say, the pennies are too thick to go into the slot machine. Owners of vending machines in Cincinnati may send a protest to the Treasury Department requesting that the new Lincoln penny be recalled. Many complaints have been received at the Sub-Treasury office here, but all have been referred to Washington. The new pennies are somewhat thicker than the old coins, and cannot be forced into slot machines. Bankers and firms using coin counting machines are also complaining, as the new pennies will not fit in the machines.”

On Aug. 6, the Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer reported, “In the city of Bridgeport, 25 machines were tested and of those, ten refused the coin. In some cases, the new pennies were found to be too thick to enter the slot of the machine. In other cases, the weight was defective and the intricate mechanism failed to respond after the coin had dropped through the hole. Tests were made on the salted peanut machines of the Coleman Hardware Company of Chicago, besides on other machines of various makes, and in each instance the coins refused to work. On the two machines mentioned the slots were too small. On other machines the coin went through the slot but failed to work the mechanism after it had dropped through.”

Meanwhile, the new, “thicker” pennies were passing as nickels in pay phones. On Aug. 17, The Washington Post reported, “Having purchased large quantities of Lincoln pennies at ‘two cents a throw,’ or risked their lives in the desperate crush at the Treasury, where 100 of the coins could be procured for $1, and having waited for a quick rise in value of the little copper pieces and being sorely disappointed, scores of Washingtonians decided to ‘bull’ the market. If they could not get 5 cents apiece for their Lincoln pennies they would get 5 cents worth of something for it.

“The Lincoln penny is a trifle larger and heavier than the old Indian-head cent, and will pass for a nickel where the recipient does not see it and is dependent upon the noise it makes for guidance. Certain shrewd Washingtonians have learned that the new coin will fit into the telephone slot and sound the little bell as loudly as a 5-cent piece.

“The discovery that Lincoln pennies were being used as nickels was made by collectors for the telephone company. On Saturday, all the iron boxes on the pay telephones were unlocked and their contents raked out by the collectors. Among the nickels was a liberal sprinkling of Lincoln pennies. The discovery was reported to the manager of the telephone company, but he is in a quandary as to what action to take.”

The new Lincoln cent had gone “full circle,” beginning with the artist’s full name on the coin, then to three initials, then to a proposed single letter “B.” After removing Mr. Brenner’s initials completely, the coin would remain “designer-less” until 1918, when his initials were restored to the coin, very small, just below Lincoln’s shoulder.

Amid all of the excitement, drama and trauma, was a touch of levity. The aforementioned Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal article included, “Many ignorant people mistook the initials for the trademark of a brand of underwear, which was very similar, and wondered.”

This Viewpoint was written by Paul Malone of Forest Lake, Minn. To have your opinion considered for Viewpoint, email submissions to numismatics@aimmedia.com.