People stood out in the cold and rain on Capitol Hill Thursday to get pennies.
A ceremony at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Statue launched the final coin in the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Program.
The series of four pennies was released this year. The reverse side of each represents a period of Lincoln's life, from his humble Kentucky log cabin childhood to his self-education in Indiana to his early professional and finally to the presidency.
"The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin design evokes the historical challenges of Abraham Lincoln's presidency," U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy said. "The image of an incomplete U.S. Capitol symbolizes the unfinished business of a Nation torn apart by slavery and the Civil War."
After the ceremonial launch, adults with way too much time on their hands exchanged money for two to six rolls of the pennies.
Children ages 18 and younger each received a shiny new penny.
