 The Presidential $ 1 Coin Act of 2005 required that the cent 's reverse be redesigned for 2009 , and that four different designs for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial be issued . The coins were to be emblematic of Lincoln 's early life in Kentucky and in Indiana , of his professional life in Illinois , and of his presidency . Unveiled September 22 , 2008 , at a ceremony held at the Lincoln Memorial , these designs were : 
