In 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding. To commemorate this milestone, as authorized by Public Law 116-330, the U.S. Mint will revamp its circulating coins for that year. Earlier this month, in preparation for the review stage, design candidates for the obverse sides of the Lincoln cent and Jefferson nickel Semiquincentennial coins were unveiled by the U.S. Mint.
Proposed designs for both denominations revolve around a combinations of dates and the use of a privy mark. For the dates, the years "1776" and "2026" would be separated by a tilde (~). The privy mark options feature "250" within a depiction of the Liberty Bell.
The four design candidates for the 2026 Semiquincentennial Lincoln cent follow.
The three design candidates for the 2026 Semiquincentennial Jefferson nickel follow.
On Feb. 15, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) reviewed the seven design candidates for the two denominations. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) will review them on Feb. 27.
