The act of wishing for protection, for fortune, for something new and grand is an act of possibility. Wishes and their talismans have long been a part of cultures around the world, and no talisman holds quite so much universal appeal as the penny. The Penny charts the trajectory of a single penny through a hopeful half-century from Rome s Trevi Fountain to the Metropolitan Museum of Art s Temple of Dendur, from Midwestern shopping malls to California diners. Along the way, images explore the custom of wishing and the penny s iconic status in popular culture. Assouline in conjunction with Cole Haan, celebrates the sense of wonder that accompanies a shiny new penny and offers this book to anyone, young or old, who has ever closed her hand around a penny and, in the moment before letting go, has made a wish.