 In June 2009 the CFA met again and this time selected a design featuring a modern rendition of the American flag . As a part of the release ceremony for the last of the 2009 cents on November 12 , 2009 , the design for the 2010 cent was announced . The design chosen was the Union shield , that was selected by the CCAC . According to the Mint , the 13 stripes on the shield " represent the states joined in one compact union to support the Federal government , represented by the horizontal bar above . " The new reverse was designed by artist Lyndall Bass and sculpted by US Mint sculptor @-@ engraver Joseph Menna . In January 2010 , the coins were released early in Puerto Rico ; this was prompted by a shortage of cents on the island . The Mint re @-@ engraved the obverse , returning to the original 1909 galvano in preparing new dies . However , the Mint did not return to striking the pieces in the higher relief of 1909 — the piece has long been struck in a much lower relief than the original pieces . Coins of the new design were officially released at a ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield , Illinois , on February 11 , 2010 . 
