American Innovation $1 Coin Program
- In 2018, the United States Mint introduced the new American Innovation Dollar series, a multi-year program honoring innovation and innovators with $1 coins from each state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands
- Each is a golden dollar coin.
- 4 coins will be issued each year, so the minting schedule for each coin is limited to only about three months.
- Each coin is being made in Brilliant Uncirculated condition at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints and in Proof quality at the San Francisco Mint.
Brilliant Uncirculated
- These coins have not been released to the general public
2018 coins (reverse design)
- George Washington's signature and the inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "AMERICAN INNOVATORS," and "SIGNED FIRST PATENT." The stylized gears represent industry and innovation.
2019 coins (reverse design)
- Delaware - Classifying the stars with a design that features a silhouette of Annie Jump Cannon against the night sky, with a number of stars visible in the sky.
- Pennsylvania - Polio vaccine with a design depicting an artist's conception of the polio virus at three different levels of magnification along with the silhouette of a period microscope, representing the extensive research that was conducted to develop a cure for polio.
- New Jersey - Light bulb with a design featuring an Edison bulb against an ornate background
- Georgia - Trustees' Garden with a design depicting a hand planting seeds in the inscription "Trustees' Garden," from which grows a variety of species representing the variety of plants grown in the garden: an orange tree seedling, sassafras, grapes, white mulberry, flax, peaches, olive, and a young shoot too small to be identified.
2020 coins (reverse design)
- Connecticut - Gerber variable scale with a design depicting the Gerber Variable Scale being used to increase a geometric shape by 200 percent, a shape which resembles the state of Connecticut.
- Massachusetts - Telephone with a design featuring the dial of an early rotary dial telephone
- Maryland - Hubble Space Telescope with a design depicting the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting the Earth surrounded by a field of stars
- South Carolina - Septima Clark with a featuring Septima Clark marching with three young African American students who carry books and an American flag, representing that education and literacy among oppressed people is necessary for empowerment and enjoyment of civil rights.
2021 coins (reverse design)
- New Hampshire - Home video game system with a design depicting Ralph Baer's brown box game "Handball" on the right side of the coin. The left side of the coin features "New Hampshire" and "Player 1" on an incused background. "IN HOME VIDEO GAME SYSTEM" and "RALPH BAER" encircle the outside of the coin in a text that is meant to pay homage to Ralph Baer's Odyssey game. The design of the coin is also symbolic of an arcade token
- Virginia - Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel with a featuring a view of the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel as a cross section cut away, illustrating the ingenuity involved in constructing it.
- New York - Erie Canal with a design depicting a packet boat being pulled from a city in the East toward the country areas to the West.
- North Carolina - First public university with a design featuring a stack of three textbooks with "FIRST PUBLIC UNIVERSITY" on the spine of the middle book. A lamp of knowledge is perched atop the books and olive branches curve around the edge of the design.
2022 coins (reverse design)
- Rhode Island - Honors naval innovation with a depiction of American naval architect, mechanical engineer and yacht design innovator, Nathanael Herreshoff's famous Reliance yacht at full speed in the waters surrounding Rhode Island. The design is bordered by a rope evoking the nautical scene. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "RHODE ISLAND." In 1876, Herreshoff introduced multi-hulled boats to yacht racing. He received the first U.S. patent for a sailing catamaran in 1927.
- Vermont - Features a snowboarder in the air performing a trick called a "melon grab," set against a mountainous winter skyline inspired by the landscape of Vermont. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "VERMONT." While the concept of riding a board downhill on snow has existed since at least the 1920s, snowboarding's technological development and transformation from a novel recreation to a worldwide competitive phenomenon are tied closely to the State of Vermont.
- Kentucky - Features a banjo, an important bluegrass instrument, tilted to one side, alluding to the rhythm and movement of the music. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "BLUEGRASS," and "KENTUCKY." From jazz to Christian rock, folk to country, Kentucky boasts a deep contribution to America's musical heritage. Above all, it is synonymous with bluegrass music, a musical innovation that takes its name directly from the State.
- Tennessee - Honors the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) leading role in establishing rural electrification with its depiction of a Tennessee farm with newly installed power lines lining the road. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY" and "TENNESSEE"
2023 coins (reverse design)
- Ohio - Depicts two strong hands grasped together, the upper arm pulling the lower arm upward, representing the support and strength required by both parties on the Underground Railroad. A chain fastened to a rustic shackle around the lower arm's wrist snaps and fragments, alluding to the hope of freedom. The inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" and "OHIO"
- Louisiana - Depicts a Higgins Boat as it would have been deployed during World War II with its innovative landing ramp open against a beach. Included inscriptions are "UNITED STATES of AMERICA," "THE HIGGINS BOAT" and "LOUISIANA"
- Indiana - From top to bottom, the design includes an early style gas automobile, a representation of classic car production, and a recent model of an Indy style race car. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "INDIANA"
- Mississippi - Depicts a pair of human lungs in the background, while a surgical assistant passes forceps to the surgeon during the first lung transplant surgery. Inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "FIRST HUMAN LUNG TRANSPLANT" and "MISSISSIPPI"
Individually encapsulated and in a box
- Helps protect the coin's graded condition during storage and display