Owner Comments:
Coin #001 in the set
Acquired: 12 Dec 09 Upgraded to PF70UC 05 Oct 12
THE COIN
Diameter: 19.05 mm
Thickness: 1.55 mm
Weight: 2.50 gms
Composition: 97.5% Zn, 2.5% Cu
Edge: Plain
Obverse Designed by Victor D. Brenner (Based on a photo by Mathew Brady) (Revised 1969)
Reverse Designed by Frank Gasparro
Mintage Availability:
Proof Sets: 2,543,401
Silver Proof Sets: 804,565
Total Population: 3,347,966
7.95% of all NCG graded 1999 S Ultra Cameo Lincoln Memorial Proof Cents are PF70.
THE STORY: 1999
Bill Clinton was the President of the United States.
Al Gore, Jr. was the Vice President of the United States.
“Doctors Without Borders” won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.
This was an interesting year to say the least. A job-relocation moved my family from Louisiana to North Carolina in the spring. My first wife had a major mental meltdown and moved back to Louisiana and started divorce proceedings right after Christmas. My two oldest sons refused to return to Louisiana with my soon-to-be ex-wife and so I became a single father. The economy started to show signs of slowing, dropping the not so subtle hint that things would be going from bad to worse soon. I was still working in corporate America traveling about 40 weeks out of the year to the tune of 130 to 140 plane rides.
1999 was a year of tragedy in many other ways. In April, the Columbine High shootings rocked the very soul of America. The nation gasped for its breath when we learned that John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law died when the plane he was flying crashed. The world also lost some other notable historic figures in 1999. The short list includes Joe DiMaggio (baseball player), Stanley Kubrick (movie director), George C. Scott (actor), George Siskel (movie critic) and Riasa Gorbachev (former 1st Lady of Russia).
Perhaps the biggest concern on the minds of Americans was Y2K. Yes, changing from the 1900’s to the 2000’s created quite the stir particularly in the hi-tech world. Ironically, many called it the start of a new century which it was not. 2000 only marked the last year of the 20th Century. The 21st Century would not begin until 2001. Regardless of the technical details, the New Year’s Eve Parties of 1999 were historic in their own right.
The New York Yankees won the World Series sweeping the Atlanta Braves in 4 straight games.
The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl defeating the Atlanta Falcons.
The Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup defeating the Buffalo Sabers, 4 games to 2.
The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship 4 games to 1 over New York Knicks.
The University of Connecticut defeated Duke to win the NCAA basketball Championship.