2009 P Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commemorative 1$ Silver Proof

My latest acquisition:

Public Law 109-285 was signed into by President Barack Obama on September 27, 2009 to commemorate the 200th anniversary on the birth of Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 in LaRue County, Kentucky). He rose to the Presidency through a combination of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commitment to the United States. (how novel!) He led the effort to free all slaves in the United states but his life and presidency was cut short by an assassin's bullet on April 15, 1865. His Presidency ran from March 4, 1861 to his death. (Interesting note: Until 1937, presidential winners were not sworn into office until March 4 due to the long and tedious process of vote counting and reporting as well as the logistics of moving into the White House.) So it would appear Lincoln was 1 month into his second term when he was assassinated.

Public Law 109-285 authorized the minting of a 1$ silver coin and to limit the issuance to no more than 500,000 coins and only from the Philadelphia Mint. Proceeds from the surcharge were designated to fund the celebration and continued study of Lincoln's life.

Mintage: 325,000 (proof) 125,000 (UnCirculated)
Designers: Justin Kunz (Obv) and Phebe Hemphill (Rev -last 43 words of the Gettysburg Address)