New penny depicts building of the Capitol

The United States Mint released a new penny Thursday that depicts a construction scene from the building of the U.S. Capitol.

The coin is the final in a series of four 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coins, each of which are imprinted with scenes from the life of President Abraham Lincoln. Earlier pennies feature his log cabin in Kentucky, a young Lincoln reading a book in Indiana, and an older Lincoln orating outside the Illinois state capitol.

"The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin design evokes the historical challenges of Abraham Lincoln's presidency," said United States Mint Director Ed Moy in a statement. "The image of an incomplete U.S. Capitol symbolizes the unfinished business of a Nation torn apart by slavery and the Civil War."

A ceremony was held on Thursday morning at the Capitol to mark the release of the coin.