2009 Congressional Years, Zinc

The 2009 Congressional Years cent in standard zinc composition reached general circulation as the fourth and final design in the bicentennial series. Joel Iskowitz designed the reverse, with sculpting by Don Everhart. The image shows the United States Capitol building with its original low dome, representing Lincoln's time as a freshman congressman from Illinois. Lincoln served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849, where he gained attention for questioning President James K. Polk's justification for the Mexican-American War. His "Spot Resolutions" demanded to know the exact spot where American blood had been shed on American soil.

Lincoln's congressional career was brief but formative. He witnessed the national debate over slavery's expansion into territories won from Mexico, a conflict that would define American politics for the next decade and ultimately lead to the Civil War. After leaving Congress, Lincoln spent years building his legal reputation in Illinois before re-entering politics in the mid-1850s. The Philadelphia Mint produced approximately 284.4 million cents across the four 2009 designs. Collectors assembling a complete bicentennial set needed all four reverses from Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, plus both the copper and zinc compositions where available.