In 1963 the magazine Art in America (Vol. 51, No. 2) commissioned six sculptors to redesign the currency of the United States as a sequel to its 1961 stamp feature, in which six artists were commissioned to design U. S. postage stamps. These commissions were based on the belief “that the best artists of the time should be involved in the everyday life of the people, and that this concept should be encouraged by the government.” Indiana was assigned the penny, which he designed polychromatically and decagonally for plastic, noting that it “would be a welcome change from the familiar copper coins long in use.” The painting New Glory Penny, a slight variation of his design for the coin, was reproduced on the magazine’s cover, and included in the 1963 Guggenheim Museum exhibition, Coins Designed by Sculptors.
