Fourscore and nine years ago, the United States Mint brought forth a new coin known as the Lincoln cent.

If that seems like only yesterday, your mind needs a thousand-month checkup. At the time the Lincoln cent made its first appearance in 1909, U.S. coins were as far removed from what we have today as vaudeville was from punk rock. It joined a coinage lineup that included such "golden oldies" as the Liberty Head nickel, the Barber silver coins and the Pratt and Saint-Gaudens gold coins.

Ronald Reagan hadn't even been born yet -- nor, for that matter, had Bill Clinton's mother. World War I was five years in the future. And horse-drawn carriages still outnumbered the horseless kind.

Every other U.S. coin being produced at that time has long since disappeared from circulation. So have eight other coins that came into being later. But the Lincoln cent's still with us, and it shows no sign of leaving us anytime soon. Indeed, it is by far the longest-running coin in U.S. history -- and during the last 89 years, it has been produced in vastly higher numbers than any other coin in human history.

What makes the Lincoln cent truly exceptional is the fact that after all these years, it's still regarded so fondly by so much of the American public. Besides being enduring, it's also endearing.

There are signs of slippage, to be sure: Lots of people can't be bothered bending over to pick up a cent these days; its minuscule buying power diminishes its appeal as a form of money. And largely for that reason, we hear repeated calls for abandoning the cent as a coinage unit.

But the Lincoln cent specifically, as distinguished from the faceless, nameless "cent" that we think of as just a generic piece of money, remains tremendously popular with hobbyists and non-collectors alike.

To a great extent, this affection is attributable to the man whose familiar portrait appears on this modest coin. It would be hard to imagine a more perfect combination: the common man's president on the common man's coin. This same ideal chemistry also helps account for the Lincoln cent's remarkable longevity: Given the martyred president's enormous popularity, no politician intent on reelection would ever want to be branded as the one who took Abraham Lincoln off the cent.

I, for one, am experiencing mixed emotions as I contemplate the latest in a long line of birthdays for this all-time favorite coin. I, too, regard it with great affection. On the other hand, I wonder whether ANY coin, however popular -- and even beloved -- it may be, should become so firmly entrenched that it's virtually exempt from replacement.

Like many -- perhaps most -- collectors of U.S. coins, I got my start in the hobby by searching through Lincoln cents in circulation. I was fortunate enough to do so at a time, in the 1950s and '60s, when scarcer-date coins could be found with relative ease and even major keys would turn up now and then for those who had both diligence and luck.

During my ceaseless searching, I was lucky enough to find the two biggest keys of the Lincoln series: the 1909-S VDB and the 1914-D. And even today, more than half a lifetime later, I still rank those two finds among the greatest thrills I've ever derived from the hobby.

At one time or another, I've owned almost every Lincoln ever made, including such offbeat rarities as the 1922 Plain and the 1955 Doubled Die. Many of these, of course, I had to buy -- but I did so gladly in order to nudge my cent set that much closer to completion.

The point of all this is that I love Lincoln cents every bit as much as the next guy -- and maybe a whole lot more. Yet I have a real doubt as to whether their seemingly endless run is good for either our nation or our hobby.

Change can be healthy; it keeps us on our toes and jolts us into appreciating the little joys and wonders we otherwise overlook in everyday life. Without it, we become blase and take our blessings for granted. More than that, life itself becomes far less colorful and dramatic. Predictability's great in laxatives and antacids -- but on a broader palette, variety is indeed the spice of life.

I certainly don't advocate change for the sake of change. But change for the sake of reinvigoration is quite another matter. A nation's coinage should mirror the people it serves, reflecting their achievements and aspirations -- and it needs to be updated on a regular ongoing basis in order to remain an accurate reflection of their constantly evolving national spirit. Coinage that never changes suggests a national spirit that is stagnant, rather than steadfast. Instead of being inspiring, it's uninspired. And rather than looking forward, it's excessively preoccupied with the past.

Perhaps the critics are right in suggesting that the cent -- that is to say, the generic one-cent piece -- has outlived its usefulness and therefore ought to be banished from U.S. commerce. A strong and logical case can be made for this point of view. And ironically, that might be the only way the Lincoln cent's marathon run will ever end, for that would give politicians the justification they need to finally pull the plug on Honest Abe.

But if the decision is made to continue minting cents, the time has clearly come to ring down the curtain on Lincolns and ring in something new and up-to-date.

Nothing lasts forever -- nor should it. The Lincoln cent has had a long, full life, but after nearly 90 years it's no longer fresh and vibrant. The American people love it, but they don't really notice it anymore. We need something new that will grab the public's attention and energize national spirit, as the Lincoln cent itself did when it was new.

The Lincoln cent will always remain close to America's heart. But that doesn't mean that we always have to keep it there physically.