Numismatic Woodstock?

As the May 14 introduction date of the second 2009 Lincoln cent design approaches, more and more collectors are trying to figure out where Lincoln City, Ind., is. They want to go.

The small community located in the extreme southern portion of Indiana is in an area that President Abraham Lincoln spent his youth.

Collectors are eagerly awaiting the Formative Years design that shows a seated Lincoln as a rail splitter reading a book. The hope is that the coins that the Mint sells to attendees for face value will soar in price in online trading as they did after the Feb. 12 debut of the first design in Kentucky.

Attendees will be able to buy a minimum of two to a maximum of six rolls of Philadelphia cents for face value at the event.

Complete details of the event had not been finialized by the time this issue went to press.

Callers to Numismatic News have had a number of concerns, starting with finding the town and the Lincoln Amphitheatre where the ceremony will be held. One caller was so insistent that he inspired this story and driving directions to the area, details not normally published in this coin hobby newspaper.

Another caller was in a dither because when he read the story in the May 5 issue announcing the Mint’s program to sell roll sets of the new cent designs he thought that this somehow meant the Indiana event that he was planning to attend was canceled.

Another reader wrote in an e-mail:

“A friend and I are driving down to buy for face value the second cents. We will also be offering others there extra money over face for their rolls. Besides being Lincoln cent collectors, I sell on eBay, and at local shows, and my friend sells at a flea market.

“These new cents are great! They are adding to collectors’ fun. Even if they did not sell for high prices, we’d still love them!”
How large will the crowd in southern Indiana get? It is hard to know, but the odds are that it will be far larger than the crowd at the Feb. 12 ceremony.

Driving directions taken from the Lincoln Amphitheatre Web site note that the facility is located inside Lincoln State Park, in Lincoln City, Ind., just off of Highway 162. The physical address is 15476 N. County Road 300 E., Lincoln City, Ind. 47552.

From Interstate 64, take US-231 South into Dale. Continue straight through the stoplight in Dale. Follow US-231 South approximately six miles to the flashing caution light at the junction of US-231 and SR-162 in Gentryville. Turn Left (East) on SR-162. Follow approximately five miles to Lincoln State Park on your Right. Turn Right into their drive. Follow the wooden signs directing you to Lincoln Amphitheatre.