what is the shield on the back of a penny
Penny (United States coin) The United States one-cent coin, often called penny, is a unit of currency equaling one-hundredth of a United States dollar. The cent's symbol is ¢. Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of his birth. From 1959 (the sesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth) to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. Four different reverse designs in 2009 honored Lincoln's 200th birthday and a new, "permanent" reverse – the Union Shield – was introduced in 2010. The coin is 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) in diameter and 0.0598 inches (1.52 mm) in thickness. Its weight has varied, depending upon the composition of metals used in its production (see further below).
Penny (Canadian coin) Production of the penny ceased in May 2012,[1] and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased the distribution of them as of February 4, 2013.[2] However, like all discontinued currency in the Canadian monetary system, the coin remains legal tender. Once distribution of the coin ceased, though, vendors were no longer expected to return pennies as change for cash purchases, and were encouraged to round purchases to the nearest five cents.[3] Non-cash transactions are still denominated to the cent.