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Back of a penny: every reverse design, 1857 to today

4 min read · Updated Oct 9, 2026

What is on the back of a penny?

The back, or reverse, is the side opposite Lincoln's portrait. It has carried a different design in each era. Most years had one design, but 2009 had four. Below we go through them in order, from the 1857 Flying Eagle cent to today's shield.

Flying Eagle and Indian Head wreaths (1857–1909)

The Flying Eagle cents of 1857 and 1858 came first in this run. Their reverse holds the denomination inside a wreath of wheat, corn, cotton and tobacco leaves. The cotton leaves are sometimes said to be maple leaves. See 1857 and our Flying Eagle page.

The Indian Head cent followed in 1859. Its first reverse had a laurel wreath. In 1860 it changed to an oak wreath with a narrow shield. On San Francisco issues, the S mint mark sits below the wreath. See 1859, our Indian Head page and our guide to where the mint mark is.

The wheat back penny (1909–1958)

Victor David Brenner designed the wheat-ears back, used from 1909 until 1958. Two stalks of wheat frame the denomination. Mint Director Leach asked for a simple design with the denomination, the country's name and the motto E pluribus unum. The motto In God We Trust was not in the first models. It was added after Leach noticed empty space at the top, and President Taft chose the version with the motto on May 26, 1909.

The first coins also carried his V.D.B. initials at the base of the reverse, which were removed in 1909 after public criticism. The 1909 V.D.B. 1909 V.D.B. is on this design.

For the wheat series, see our wheat penny page and wheat penny key dates.

Lincoln Memorial on the back of the penny (1959–2008)

In 1959, for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, Frank Gasparro's design replaced the wheat ears with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The coins were officially released on February 12, 1959. The memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1922, and holds a large interior statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. This design ran until 2008. See 1959 and our memorial penny page.

The 2009 penny with man sitting on a log

In 2009 the Mint issued four Lincoln bicentennial reverses, each showing a stage of his life:

• Birth and early childhood: a log cabin in Kentucky.
• Formative years: Indiana, where a young Lincoln reads during a break from splitting rails. This is the design people usually mean by the penny with a man sitting on a log.
• Professional life: a young lawyer before the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
• Presidency: Washington, D.C., with the half-completed Capitol dome.

The Formative Years cent is 2009 Formative Years. See also our 2009 Formative Years page.

The shield penny back (2010 to today)

The Union Shield has been on the back since 2010. Lyndall Bass designed it, and Joseph Menna sculpted it. The Mint announced it on November 12, 2009. The design is adapted from a Union shield that appeared on pattern cents and nickels coined in 1896. Its 13 stripes stand for the states joined in one union, with the bar above representing the federal government.

A standard shield cent is 2010. For the shield series, see our shield penny page.

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

Coins in this guide

• 1857

  Philadelphia · 17.5 million made

  $220worn

  $1,300MS-60
• 1859

  Philadelphia · 36.4 million made

  $110worn

  $360MS-60
• 1909 V.D.B.

  Philadelphia · 28 million made

  Semi-key

  $5.50worn

  $23.00MS-60
• 1959

  Philadelphia · 609.7 million made

  4¢worn
• 2009 Formative Years

  Philadelphia · Included in the 376,000,000 2009 total; not counted separately.

  1¢worn
• 2009 Formative Years Doubled Die Reverse

  Philadelphia · Included in the 376,000,000 2009 total; not counted separately.

  Variety
• 2010

  Philadelphia · 2 billion made

  1¢worn

Related guides

• Wheat pennies 1909–1958: key dates, semi-keys and what's common
• Where's the mint mark? P, D, S and W on every US penny
• The end of the penny: what 2025 means for collectors

Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Lincoln cent” (accessed 2026-10-09)
2. Wikipedia, “Flying Eagle cent” (accessed 2026-10-09)
3. Wikipedia, “Indian Head cent” (accessed 2026-10-09)
4. American Numismatic Association (money.org), “9 Interesting Lincoln Cents” (accessed 2026-10-09)
5. NGC, “Lincoln Cents, Bicentennial and Shield Reverse (2009-Date)” (accessed 2026-10-09)