2009 Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar Commemorative Coins

One of the most popular modern commemorative silver coins issued by the United States Mint is the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar Commemorative. Available in both proof and uncirculated condition, the individual commemorative coins sold out in a tad over six weeks.

Proof 2009 Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin

A special Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set which included a proof Lincoln Silver Dollar as well as four new 2009 proof Lincoln Cents (featuring reverse designs emblematic of different stages in the life of Lincoln) proved even more popular. With a maximum mintage in place of only 50,000, these sets sold out in just two days after creating havoc with the U.S. Mint’s ordering systems.

As a side note, the other commemorative released in 2009 was the bicentennial Braille Silver Dollar.

Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar Information

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and would eventually become the 16th President of the United States, serving during the tumultuous American Civil War. In order to celebrate and honor the bicentennial of his birth, the U.S. Congress created the Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act of 2006.

Marking that bicentennial, the Mint released proof and uncirculated Lincoln Silver Dollar Commemorative Coins on February 12, 2009. It placed a mintage cap of 125,000 on the uncirculated version of the coin and a cap of 325,000 for the proof coin (there were also the 50,000 proofs reserved for the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set released later in the year).

Sales from the Mint were brisk with 116,558 of the proof and 61,164 of the uncirculated sold in the first week alone. By March 27, 2009, barely over six weeks from their initial release, both individual versions of the coin were sold out.

Uncirculated 2009 Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin

Shown on the obverse of each coin is a portrait of President Lincoln. The portrait was designed by Justin Kunz and sculpted by Don Everhart. Surrounding the image of the president are the inscriptions LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, 2009 and the P mintmark.

The reverse of the coin shows the last 43 words of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address wrapped in a laurel wreath – "…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNIM and ONE DOLLAR are also shown inscribed around the image. It was designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.

2009 Lincoln Silver Dollar Coin Specifications