2009 Lincoln Cent Rail Spliter Two Roll Sets

The US Mint has officially announced the second 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set offering. Two Roll Sets for the Formative Years or "Rail Splitter" design will go on sale at the US Mint on May 14, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET.

This will be the second of four different reverse designs to grace the Lincoln Cent during 2009. The rotating designs are issued to mark the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, which is also the centennial of the Lincoln Cent coin. Each design will cover a different stage of his life with a new design released periodically throughout the year. See all of the 2009 Lincoln Penny Designs and Release Dates.

The 2009 Lincoln Cent Formative Years Two Roll Set will contain two 50-coin rolls, one with coins from the Philadelphia Mint and one with coins from the Denver Mint. Each roll will use a custom designed wrapper which denotes the contents of the roll and the mint.

The rolls will be priced at $8.95 each with an order limit of five per household. This is the same price and ordering limit that was in place for the previous design, which sold out within two weeks.

May 14, 2009 will also mark the official release of the new design into circulation, as well as the launch ceremony in Lincoln City, Indiana. Attendees of the launch ceremony will have the opportunity to exchange currency for new rolls of the Lincoln Cents at face value.

CoinWorld has also reported that US Mint facilities in Washington, DC will also likely have the new Lincoln Cents available for exchange at face value on May 14. The locations where coins may be available for exchange are the US Mint sales centers located at Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave, NE and the first floor of 801 Ninth St. NW, in Washington DC.

The first 2009 Lincoln Cent release saw prices reach ridiculous heights, with regular unmarked rolls of the coins briefly selling for above $50 each. The premiums were driven by high demand combined with a lack of availability through the normal circulation distribution channels. Will there be a repeat for the second release?

In my opinion, there will be relatively large premiums, but not at the extreme levels briefly experienced for the first release. The story has simply gotten too much attention, including mainstream coverage in USA Today.

There will be plenty of speculators descending on the few locations where coins will be available, and immediately putting them up for sale on eBay and other venues. The US Mint will also have the rolls available on the launch date. The prior roll offering came over a month later. This more dependable supply should keep prices at bay.

Nonetheless, you still might want to mark your calendar for the US Mint's release. Even at $8.95, the two roll sets will probably sell out quickly.