Lincoln's Professional Life in Illinois (1830-1861) - One thing about this new series of penny designs that will be good for Americans is their educational value. For instance, if you'd asked me a year ago where Abraham Lincoln was born, I'd have told you, "Illinois. Everyone knows that Lincoln is from Illinois." As I've learned from following these new pennies, though, four different states can lay a solid claim on important stages of Lincoln's life.
Lincoln's professional life is the part that happened in Illinois. The building depicted in the penny design is the old Illinois state capitol in Springfield. Lincoln gave a seminal speech there on June 16, 1858 upon his nomination for the U.S. Senate on the Republican ticket, a race he ultimately lost. The speech, referred to as his "House Divided" speech, isn't as well known as the Gettysburg Address, but it showed that Lincoln had remarkable moral courage, and represented a turning point in how the intellectual elite perceived Lincoln.
The design for this coin was created by AIP Master Designer Joel Iskowitz, and sculpted by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.