Lincoln Wheat

In 1909, in honor of Abraham Lincoln's 100^th birthday, the Lincoln Cent was introduced. Controversy ensued shortly after its release after the public expressed its distaste for the designer's intials (VDB), which appeared on the reverse of the coin. Shortly after production began, the initals were removed, creating two varities of the 1909 coin. The Wheat Cent, as it is often called, ran until 1959 when the wheat stalks on the reverse were replaced by an image of the Lincoln Memorial.