The 2009 Lincoln Formative Years Cent was the second of four new Lincoln Cents to be issued by the US Mint in 2009. These four new cents (sometimes referred to as pennies) were struck to acknowledge the bicentennial of the birth of the sixteenth President of the United States Abraham Lincoln who is featured on the strikes.

In fact, Lincoln has been honored on the small coin since 1909 when his image was added to celebrate the centennial of his birth. That release marked the first time a former President was honored on a circulating coin of the United States and included an obverse portrait of the President and a reverse design of two wheat heads, both designed by artist Victor David Brenner.

Those Wheat Cents remained for fifty years before the reverse of the coin was changed to include an image of the Lincoln Memorial (found in Washington D.C.) instead. Another fifty years would pass before the designs of the Lincoln Cents would change again when Congress ordered it under Title III of Public Law 109-145.

In that legislation, Congress demanded four new cent coins to be struck in 2009 to mark the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. These four coins were to feature reverse designs emblematic of four different stages in the life of the sixteenth President.

The first strike released in the new program was the 2009 Birthplace Cent which showed a log cabin to represent the humble beginnings of Lincoln near Hodgenville, Kentucky. It was followed later that year by this Formative Years Cent.

Shown on the reverse of the formative years coin is a design of a younger Lincoln sitting on a log while reading a book. He is thought to be taking a break from the strenuous work of rail splitting. This design was completed by Charles Vickers and was officially released on May 14, 2009 with a ceremony held near Lincoln City, Indiana near where Lincoln spent much of his childhood.

It was followed later that year by two more Lincoln Cents, the Professional Life Cent and the Presidency Cent.