Values
A 2009 Bicentennial cent’s market depends on the reverse, the mint mark, the grade, and the color. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key date inside this 2009 circulating set. This page will not invent one. Do not call Presidency a key because its printed mintage is smaller than Formative Years.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn common 2009 is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
Four reverses. Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, and Presidency are a design set. They are not errors.
SMS bronze. Collector bronze strikes exist for 2009. They are not the circulating zinc rows on this chart.
Union Shield. That reverse is 2010 and later. It is not an error on a 2009 coin, and it is not this page.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Bicentennial and Shield page. We do not host their plates. This site still splits the two series.
Varieties
The four 2009 reverses are the set. They are design subtypes, not errors and not a second year. The Union Shield reverse starts in 2010 and is the other page.
- BirthplaceThe log cabin reverse. Philadelphia and Denver both exist. Proofs stay off this chart.
- Formative YearsLincoln reading, seated on a log. It is one of the four circulating reverses, not a die chip.
- Professional LifeLincoln standing in front of the Illinois capitol. The chart uses the circulation figures this page already cites.
- PresidencyThe half-finished Capitol dome. It is the fourth reverse, not a key this page invented.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Circulating 2009 Bicentennial cents were struck at Philadelphia and Denver. The counts below are the NGC Coin Explorer cells that printed a mintage in this pass.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | P Birthplace | 284,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | P Formative Years | 376,000,000 | 822030 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | P Presidency | 129,600,000 | 821997 | — | — | $2 |
| 2009 | P Professional Life | 316,000,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | D Birthplace | 350,400,000 | 702633 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.75 |
| 2009 | D Formative Years | 363,600,000 | 361951 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.75 |
| 2009 | D Presidency | 198,000,000 | 217347 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | D Professional Life | 336,000,000 | — | — | — | — |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
Philadelphia Birthplace and both Professional Life rows are the Wikipedia circulation figures. SMS bronze collector strikes stay off. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the reverse. Read the mint mark. Look at Lincoln’s cheek before you argue color.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A circulating 2009 Bicentennial cent is copper-plated zinc. SMS bronze is a different planchet. The Shield reverse is a different page.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Thickness | 1.55 mm |
| Weight | 2.5 g |
| Composition | copper-plated zinc |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor D. Brenner obverse; 2009 reverse designs |
Diameter is the U.S. Mint circulating-cent figure (19.05 mm). Thickness 1.55 mm and weight 2.5 g are the Numista 2009 Presidency type page (N#7580) and the Formative Years type page (N#7214). Copper-plated zinc is the circulating 2009 planchet. SMS bronze collector strikes are not this page.
Grading
A 2009 Bicentennial cent wears first on Lincoln’s cheek and hair, and on the high points of that year’s reverse. The four reverses are a design set, not four grades.
This is still a Lincoln cent. Copper color BN / RB / RD is a color call on leftover red, not a G / VF / MS-63 cell. The Shield reverse starts in 2010 and lives on its own page.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln’s cheek and hair | The cheekbone and the hair above the ear. | Those high points flatten while the coat can still look busy. |
| The 2009 reverse | Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, or Presidency — and the high points on that scene. | The reverse names the type. Wear on the scene is still wear. |
| Date and mint mark | 2009 under the bust, and P or D when the mint marked it. | A worn date is a worn cent. Do not scrape the reverse to force a mint mark. |
| Color | Remaining original red versus brown. | BN / RB / RD is a color call. It is not a grade number. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. Compare the coin in hand to PCGS Photograde. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a 2009 Bicentennial cent if you already know the type.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this 2009 Bicentennial cent are already slick.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 2009-D Presidency is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. Lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 2009-D Presidency is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean 2009 Bicentennial cent for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on lincoln’s cheek and the reverse high points.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof and SMS bronze 2009 cents exist as collector strikes. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color
BN, RB, and RD describe remaining original color on uncirculated copper. They are not extra numeric grades. The names also live on the glossary.
| Code | Name | Remaining original red |
|---|---|---|
| RD | Red | 95% or more of the original red remains |
| RB | Red-Brown | 5% to 95% of the original red remains |
| BN | Brown | Less than 5% of the original red remains |
Overview
A Lincoln Bicentennial cent is a United States one-cent coin dated 2009 with one of four reverses that mark the 200th year of Lincoln’s birth. Collectors mean those circulating zinc coins, not the Union Shield that follows and not the Wheat or Memorial types that came before.
People like them because the four scenes are easy to tell apart on a table. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped cent looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint used 2009 to tell four short stories on the reverse while Brenner’s Lincoln stayed on the front. Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, and Presidency are that year’s set. In 2010 the reverse becomes the Union Shield. NGC still files both under one subcategory. This site does not.
This page will not invent a shop list or a key-date romance to fill the year.
Design
Obverse: Brenner’s Lincoln, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and 2009. Reverse: one of the four Bicentennial scenes and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” with “ONE CENT.” The mint mark sits under the date when the coin is not from an unmarked circulating issue.
Look at the cheek, the date, and the reverse scene. Those spots go flat first. Color is a later call.
People Also Ask
What years are Lincoln Bicentennial cents?
The circulating Bicentennial set is 2009 only. Four reverses — Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, and Presidency — share that year. The Union Shield reverse starts in 2010 and lives on its own page.
How much is a 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial cent worth?
It depends on the reverse, the mint mark, the grade, and the color. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Is the Shield reverse part of this page?
No. NGC lists 2009 Bicentennial and Shield together. This site still writes two pages. Shield cents start in 2010.
Why are some 2009 mintages missing?
Philadelphia Birthplace and both Professional Life strikes are the Wikipedia circulation figures. Denver Birthplace stays the NGC count, which is the figure already on the chart. Proofs stay off.
What do BN, RB, and RD mean on a 2009 cent?
Brown, red-brown, and red. They describe remaining original red. They are a color call, not a G, VF, or MS-63 number.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common Formative Years in a high grade can cost more than a worn Presidency. That is normal.
If you inherited a jar, do not scrub the date to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees 2009 cents every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect by type, one honest circulated 2009 will teach you the reverse set. For the Shield that follows, read the Lincoln Shield cent page. For the Wheat type that started this portrait, read the Lincoln Wheat cent. For the bronze cent this design replaced much earlier, read the Indian Head cent.
A Final Word
2009 Bicentennial cents reward people who slow down. Read the reverse. Read the mint mark. Leave the polish under the sink.
When you want the next Lincoln reverse, the Shield cent is already here.