WASHINGTON—Touting the coin as the first in American history to feature an assassin, the United States Mint introduced a controversial new John Wilkes Booth penny Friday. “With this one-cent coin, we honor John Wilkes Booth, a man who, while not perfect, altered the course of our nation in indelible ways,” said the mint’s director, Ventris Gibson, who added that one side of the new penny would include a relief portrait of the 19th-century actor-turned-gunman while the other would feature the Latin inscription “Sic semper tyrannis.” “The release of the Booth penny will help in our efforts to showcase individuals who exemplify America’s complex past. It stands alongside the Lee Harvey Oswald dime and the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed quarter as a reminder of those who risked everything for causes they believed in.” Gibson went on to state that Abraham Lincoln pennies would not be removed from circulation but would instead be altered to show the back of the president’s skull blown off.
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