You probably haven’t thought about the loose change in your pocket for a while. Honestly, most of us just tap a phone or a card and move on. But if you actually dig out a handful of coins, you’ll notice something weird. George Washington on the quarter? He’s looking left. Thomas Jefferson on the nickel? Left. Franklin D. Roosevelt on the dime? Left again. Then you get to the cent. Abraham Lincoln is staring off to the right, looking away from every other major figure in American currency. It feels like a mistake or some weird rebellious move by the designer, doesn't it?
Actually, there’s no grand conspiracy or secret code hidden in the direction of Lincoln's gaze.
The question of why is the penny the only coin facing right usually brings up a lot of myths. People think it’s because he was a Republican, or maybe because he was the first president to be assassinated. Neither of those is true. It basically comes down to the personal preference of one specific artist and the timing of when the coin was created.
The man behind the right-facing profile
Victor David Brenner. That’s the name you need to know.
Before 1909, the penny didn’t feature a real person at all. It had the "Indian Head" design, which was actually a depiction of Liberty wearing a Native American headdress. When the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth approached, President Theodore Roosevelt decided the country needed a change. He was a huge fan of Lincoln and wanted a coin that felt more like a monument than just a piece of metal.
Roosevelt met Brenner in 1908 at a settlement house on New York’s Lower East Side. Brenner had previously designed a plaque of Lincoln, and Roosevelt loved it. He told Brenner to use that same image for the new cent. On that original plaque, Lincoln was facing right.
Brenner didn't change it. Why would he? He was an artist, and he felt that specific profile captured the President's character best. There were no federal laws or Mint regulations back then saying every coin had to face the same way. It was purely an aesthetic choice. In fact, if you look at coins from the 18th and 19th centuries, the direction of the heads varied all the time.
The "tradition" of facing left didn't even exist when the Lincoln penny was minted.
📖 Related: Bates Nut Farm Woods Valley Road Valley Center CA: Why Everyone Still Goes After 100 Years
Why everyone else is looking the other way
If Lincoln’s direction was just an artist's whim, why did everyone else end up facing left?
It’s mostly a matter of timing and the influence of the Silver Pavilion. The Washington quarter came out in 1932. The Jefferson nickel followed in 1938, and the Roosevelt dime in 1946. By the time these coins were being designed, the artists involved—like John Flanagan for the quarter and Felix Schlag for the nickel—simply chose the left-facing profile.
Maybe they wanted to differentiate their work from Brenner’s. Maybe they just preferred the left side of the face.
The US Mint has never officially mandated a specific direction for presidential profiles. If you look at the 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar, JFK is also facing left. It’s become a sort of accidental standard. Because the penny was the first "modern" coin to feature a real president, it set its own rules. Every coin that followed happened to follow a different one.
Some numismatists (the folks who study coins for a living) suggest that facing left is a carry-over from European heraldry and ancient Roman coins. In those cultures, the direction sometimes changed when a new monarch took the throne to distinguish the new reign from the old one. But the US doesn't have kings. We have elections. So, we don't have a formal system for switching directions.
Myths that just won't die
You'll hear some wild stuff on the internet.
One popular theory is that Lincoln faces right to show he was "turning his back" on the other presidents because of the Civil War. That's a fun story, but it makes zero sense when you realize the other coins didn't even exist yet. When the Lincoln penny was released in 1909, Washington wasn't on the quarter and Jefferson wasn't on the nickel. Lincoln wasn't turning away from anyone; he was the only president on a circulating coin at the time.
👉 See also: Why T. Pepin’s Hospitality Centre Still Dominates the Tampa Event Scene
Another weird one? That it’s a political statement. People claim he faces right because he was a Republican. But if that were the case, why does FDR (a Democrat) face left? And why does Washington (who hated political parties) face left too?
The truth is much more boring. It was just a desk plaque.
Brenner’s 1907 plaque was the source material. He spent years studying Lincoln’s features, using photographs taken by Mathew Brady. One specific photo, taken in 1864 at Brady’s studio, shows Lincoln in a right-facing profile. Brenner used that as his primary reference. He felt it showed the "burden of the presidency" in Lincoln's eyes.
The V.D.B. Controversy
While we're talking about Brenner, he actually caused a huge scandal when the coin first dropped.
He put his initials, V.D.B., in large letters on the bottom of the reverse side (the tails side). People lost their minds. They thought it was "illegal advertising" for an artist to put his name on government property. The public outcry was so intense that the Mint stopped production and removed the initials just days after the coin's release.
This created the famous "1909-S VDB" penny, which is now worth thousands of dollars to collectors.
Eventually, the Mint put his initials back on in 1918, but they made them tiny and tucked them away on the shoulder of Lincoln’s bust. You can still see them there today if you have a magnifying glass.
✨ Don't miss: Human DNA Found in Hot Dogs: What Really Happened and Why You Shouldn’t Panic
Examining your change: What to look for
So, why is the penny the only coin facing right today? Essentially, it’s a grandfathered-in design. The Lincoln cent is the longest-running design in US Mint history. It has survived for over 115 years. While the back of the coin has changed—from the original wheat ears to the Lincoln Memorial in 1959, then the Union Shield in 2010—the front has stayed largely the same.
If you want to verify this yourself, grab a handful of change and look for these nuances:
- The 2009 Bicentennial Series: To celebrate 200 years, the Mint released four different backs showing Lincoln’s life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. The front remained right-facing.
- The 1943 Steel Cent: During World War II, copper was needed for ammunition. The penny turned silver-colored because it was made of zinc-coated steel. Lincoln still faced right.
- The Mint Marks: Look under the year. If there is a 'D', it was made in Denver. An 'S' means San Francisco. No letter? It’s from Philadelphia. Regardless of the city, he’s always looking right.
Why this matters for collectors
Understanding the history of the Lincoln profile helps you spot "errors" that aren't actually errors. Sometimes people find a coin where the head looks like it's facing the wrong way or is double-stamped. These are actual manufacturing mistakes and can be worth a lot of money.
But a standard right-facing Lincoln? That’s just history.
The direction of the coin isn't just a quirk; it’s a bridge to a specific era of American art. Victor David Brenner wasn't trying to follow a trend. He was trying to honor a man he deeply admired. The fact that every other coin designer for the next fifty years chose the opposite direction only makes the penny stand out more. It makes the "common" cent the most unique piece of currency in your wallet.
Actionable Steps for Curious Coin Holders
If you’re interested in diving deeper into your pocket change, here’s how to start:
- Get a 10x Magnifier: Look at the base of Lincoln’s shoulder on a modern penny. You’ll see the "VDB" that caused such a stir in 1909.
- Check your 1982 pennies: This was a transition year where the Mint switched from 95% copper to 97.5% zinc. Some weigh 3.11 grams, others weigh 2.5 grams. The copper ones are worth more in metal value alone.
- Look for "Close AM" vs "Wide AM": On the back of some pennies from the 1990s, the 'A' and 'M' in AMERICA almost touch. On others, there's a clear gap. Depending on the year, the "wrong" spacing can make the coin worth hundreds.
- Compare the profiles: Line up a nickel, dime, quarter, and penny. Notice how the "relief" (the depth of the image) on the penny feels different. Brenner’s design was originally much higher, which is why older pennies often look more "3D" than modern ones.
The penny might be the lowest-value coin we have, but it carries the most stubborn design in American history. It doesn't look left because it doesn't have to. It was there first, and it’s not changing for anyone.