The first regular-issue proof Lincoln cents in 20 years, the 1936 satin proofs bear a similar resemblance to the matte proofs that preceded this piece a generation earlier. However, collectors of the 1930s weren't particularly fond of the satin finish, which bears little difference in outward appearance from nice uncirculated business-strikes. Officials at the US Mint paid heed to the numismatic outcry and produced 1936 pennies with brilliant finishes, leaving the satin proofs as the rarer of the two types. Given a relatively low survival rate of perhaps 500 to 600 pieces, many of these satin-finish proofs were presumably spent as money.