You all probably know my stance on the penny, I think we should kill the penny. Unfortunately, the only legislator willing to put some teeth in the move was ousted after his involvement in a bunch of scandals in 2007. Since then, there hasn’t been a peep out of Congress on the issue though I suspect it’s because there are a lot of other, more pressing, issues on the docket.

So, it’s up to us to figure out a way to give the penny (and maybe even the nickel) the boot.

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The U.S. Mint announced the four designs of the new penny to debut next year on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th. They will be rolled out in three month intervals, starting Feb. 12th, with a Lincoln commemorative silver dollar released in 2009 as well. It’ll be the first time in fifty years that the penny will have changed and each of the four rear designs will show milestones in his life:

Log Cabin design, his birthplace

Indiana rail splitter design, where he worked as a young adult

Illinois State Capitol design, where he served as a representative

Half-finished US Capitol design, representing his work to build/preserve the Union

If you’re a fan of trivia, you’ll be happy to learn that Abraham Lincoln was the first person to appear on a regular US coin in 1909 (the penny of course). Here are 49 other fun facts about money.

Lastly, some want to see the penny abolished all together!

New Lincoln penny designs unveiled [CNN Money]