Claim: A proposed redesign of the Lincoln Cent will omit the motto "In God We Trust."
Example:[Collected via e-mail, September 2007]
THIS IS WHAT OUR NEW PENNIES WILL LOOK LIKE.
THANKS TO THE ACLU AND OTHER SIMILAR GROUPS THE WORDS "IN GOD WE TRUST" HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
WHEN ARE WE AS AMERICANS, GOING TO SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND STOP BOWING DOWN TO THOSE THAT TAKE OUR BELIEFS AND RIGHTS AWAY FROM US?
IF WE DON'T ACT SOON THEY WILL HAVE THE WORD "GOD" COMPLETELY ELIMINATED FROM OUR LANGUGE.
THEY'VE ALREADY STOPPED SCHOOL PRAYER, PRAYER AT SPORTING EVENTS AND NOW FROM OUR CURRENCY.
WHAT'S NEXT? WILL THEY OUTLAW PRAYER IN CHURCH?
WILL THEY OUTLAW THE SELL OF BIBLES?
TIME TO SPEAK UP BEFORE THE THE BELIEFS OF A FEW BECOME THE LAW.
Origins: In
September 2007 the U.S. Mint announced that in 2009, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Lincoln Cent, it would update the venerable U.S. penny by introducing four rotating designs depicting different aspects of Lincoln's life. Some of the designs under consideration by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) include a log cabin (to represent Lincoln's birth), and, as shown above, Lincoln reading a book (to represent the future president's early life), and Lincoln on the floor of the Illinois Legislature (to represent his early adulthood).
The CCAC has not yet settled on what designs it thinks should be used to represent the latter stages of Lincoln's career and life:
The panel did not like any of the designs for Lincoln's presidency, some of which depicted various images of a half-completed Capitol dome, evoking Lincoln's famous order that construction of the Capitol should continue during the Civil War as a symbol that the Union would continue.
Instead, the committee voted to request that the Mint designers and engravers come back with depictions of Lincoln as a war president, perhaps visiting the troops. However, this provoked disagreement because some panel members believed [that] instead of Lincoln as a military commander, the final image should depict Lincoln as the "Great Emancipator" who signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves.
Other members said it was more important to emphasize Lincoln's role as commander in chief during the Civil War.
Predictably (given similar recent and inaccurate rumors about the new presidential dollar coins), rumors have already begun to swirl that the upcoming redesign of the Lincoln Cent is yet more evidence of an insidious atheist plot to remove the motto "In God We Trust" from U.S. coinage. Two simple facts shoot down such rumors, however:
The prospective designs recently exhibited to the public are simply a few concepts that the CCAC has so far decided to recommend. That panel is but one of three advisory groups (along with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission) offering suggestions on the Lincoln Cent redesign to the Mint. The final choice of design(s) ultimately rests with the Secretary of the Treasury, who is free to accept or reject any of the groups' recommendations.
All of the designs under consideration are intended to appear on the reverse of the coin, replacing the current engraving of the Lincoln Memorial. The obverse of the coin, which features the famous profile of Lincoln underneath the words "In God We Trust," is slated to remain intact:
Last updated: 2 October 2007
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/lincolncent.asp
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