Just in time for..  Well, nothing in particular, the US Mint is jolting us all out of what will surely be a deep post-holiday sleep with the exciting introduction of four new penny designs!

In 2009, the United States Mint will mint and issue four different one-cent coins in recognition of the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the first issuance of the Lincoln cent.

Wow.  Apparently the designs were unveiled months ago, but I somehow didn’t notice.  And now I’ll probably not notice the first time I get one of the amazing new-fangled pennies.  I’d like to take this time to thank the US Mint for giving me something to not care about.

I wonder what this guy would say:

I like thinking that our government, surely fully aware of all the good reasons for retiring the penny, finds a ground-breaking, innovative solution to the problem.