The U.S. Mint has recently revealed the images of the newly designed penny, set to debut next year in conjunction with Lincoln's 200th birthday.

Yes, that's right, our old copper friend, worth practically nothing now, is getting a redesign for the first time in 50 years. 

As reported by CNN, the four new designs, seen above, will actually replace the BACK of the penny, and depict Lincoln's log cabin (with, apparently, no Lincoln), the young man working on the Indian Rail, Lincoln working for the state of Illinois, and a half-finished Capitol Dome (which, apparently, is supposed to depict his "work to unify the country"). 

Seeing as the economy is going to bunk, it's surprising they aren't just getting rid of the ol' boy now.

Oh wait, some say they might.

According to United Press International, while the new penny excites coin collectors, many are wondering if the new penny is even worth having. Because of the economic problems we are in, pennies (which aren't even made of copper anymore, FYI. It's Zinc with a Copper-Coating. Classy!) are considered by many to be growing more and more unnecessary...and expensive:

"The Mint has been producing cents for circulation for 215 years since 1793 and they're fun to collect, but the usefulness of one-cent denomination coins is questionable," Adkins [a coin expert] said in a release. "Pennies may go the way of the two-cent, three-cent and twenty-cent denomination coins that were eliminated in the 1800s....

 

Because of rising commodities prices, there's very little copper in the little pennies produced now," Adkins said. "Since 1982 they're composed of zinc with a thin copper coating, and even with the reduced use of copper it sometimes costs more than a cent to make a penny."

 

Personally, I think these new penny images, while more interesting, are a little weird...especially the two that don't even have Lincoln-- many people don't realize Lincoln's childhood growing up in a log cabin, and the half-finished Capitol Dome is just...weird looking. Besides, I always used to think it was so cool how, when you looked in the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the penny, the little Lincoln statue is there!! SO COOL.

That's just me, though. Tell me what you think below.