2013

The 2013 Lincoln Shield cent from the Philadelphia Mint achieved a mintage of approximately 3.75 billion pieces, one of the highest production figures for any Shield cent year. The enormous output underscored the cent's continued role in American commerce despite recurring debates about whether the denomination should be eliminated. Retail pricing, sales tax calculations, and charitable donation jars all kept the cent in demand.

Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait of Lincoln remained unchanged, now 104 years into its run. The longevity of the design reflects both its artistic quality and the inertia of government coinage programs, where changes require acts of Congress or specific statutory authority. The Shield reverse by Lyndall Bass had become the standard by 2013, and most Americans had stopped noticing the difference from the old Memorial design they had known for decades.