Coin History – The American Innovation Dollar Coin

Normally for my Coin History column, I look back at coins of the past. For this one however, I’m going to look forward to a new coin that is truly rolling out this year. The American Innovation Dollar Coin.

The new Dollar coin came about through legislation passed in 2018 and is set to run through the year 2032. In all, there will be 57 coins released in the program with the first one released on December 14, 2018. That coin, however, was an introductory coin fundamentally to show the coin off to the public and was never released for circulation.

Life of the American Innovation Dollar Coin Program began on June 20, 2018. Legislation for the program was added to a bill in the United States Senate from a earlier House of Representatives bill. The bill was returned to the House and was approved just seven days later on June 27, 2018. It became law on July 18, 2018 when it was signed by President Donald Trump. With the legislation authorizing the coin now in place, the United States Mint went to work on designing it.

Keeping with the gold tone of the Native American Dollar and the Presidential Dollar series, the American Innovation Dollar will also have a smooth edge too. E PLURIBUS UNUM will be on the edge along with the year and mint mark.

The series was introduced on December 14, 2018 with the release of a special introductory coin. That coin featured the Statue of Liberty on the Obverse while highlighting the singing of the first American patent, signed into law by George Washington, on the Reverse.

2018 American Innovation Dollar Obverse
2018 American Innovation Dollar Obverse
2018 American Innovation Dollar Reverse
2018 American Innovation Dollar Reverse

These 2018 coins were not released into general circulation. Rather, they were made available in rolls and bags from the United States Mint. There is also a special Proof version of this coin available from the Mint. 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint start at $32.95 while 100-coin bags are $111.95. The special proof version is $6.95. 2019 is the year that the American Innovation Dollar program gets going in earnest. Uncirculated coins will be minted in Philadelphia and Denver while Proof coins will be struck in San Francisco.

From 2019 through to 2032, four new coins will be release each year. According to the Mint, these coins will be “celebrating innovations and innovators” from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia and five United States Territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Obverse for all of these coins will remain the same as the 2018 coins, depicting the Statue of Liberty. The Reverse of each coin will change based on the state or territory it is released for and the innovation it is celebrating.

In many ways, it means this new Dollar program will be similar to the 50 States Quarter Program, the America The Beautiful Quarter Program, and the Native American Dollar Series with a common Obverse and unique Reverse.

This year we will see coins for Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia introduced. Here is the complete breakdown of each year and state we will see, in order, in the program. I will update this table and this article as new coins are released in the program so feel free to bookmark it for reference.

YearStateSignificanceRelease Date
2018Introductory CoinFirst American PatentDecember 14, 2018
2019DelawareClassifying The StarsSeptember 19, 2019
2019PennsylvaniaPolio VaccineOctober 24, 2019
2019New JerseyThe Edison BulbNovember 21, 2019
2019GeorgiaTrustees’ GardenDecember 19, 2019
2020ConnecticutGerber Variable ScaleSeptember 29, 2020
2020MassachusettsTelephoneOctober 29, 2020
2020MarylandHubble TelescopeNovember 23, 2020
2020South CarolinaSeptima ClarkJanuary 19, 2021
2021New HampshireHome Video Game SystemJune 15, 2021
2021VirginiaChesapeake Bay Bridge TunnelJuly 27, 2021
2021New YorkErie CanalAugust 31, 2021
2021North CarolinaFirst Public UniversityOctober 12, 2021
2022Rhode IslandReliance YachtFebruary 23, 2022
2022VermontSnowboardingApril 26, 2022
2022KentuckyBluegrass MusicJune 28, 2022
2022TennesseeTennessee Valley AuthorityAugust 23, 2022
2023OhioTBATBA
2023LouisianaTBATBA
2023IndianaTBATBA
2023MississippiTBATBA
2024IllinoisTBATBA
2024AlabamaTBATBA
2024MaineTBATBA
2024MissouriTBATBA
2025ArkansasTBATBA
2025MichiganTBATBA
2025FloridaTBATBA
2025TexasTBATBA
2026IowaTBATBA
2026WisconsinTBATBA
2026CaliforniaTBATBA
2026MinnesotaTBATBA
2027OregonTBATBA
2027KansasTBATBA
2027West VirginiaTBATBA
2027NevadaTBATBA
2028NebraskaTBATBA
2028ColoradoTBATBA
2028North DakotaTBATBA
2028South DakotaTBATBA
2029MontanaTBATBA
2029WashingtonTBATBA
2029IdahoTBATBA
2029WyomingTBATBA
2030UtahTBATBA
2030OklahomaTBATBA
2030New MexicoTBATBA
2030ArizonaTBATBA
2031AlaskaTBATBA
2031HawaiiTBATBA
2031District of ColumbiaTBATBA
2031Puerto RicoTBATBA
2032GuamTBATBA
2032American SamoaTBATBA
2032United States Virgin IslandsTBATBA
2032Northern Mariana IslandsTBATBA

If you saw the June 2019 Mint Production article, you know that none of these coins have been struck yet. That means two things as far as the program is concerned. First, at least for 2019, you can expect very low mintage figures given that four unique designs have to be produced. Simply put, the Mint won’t have time to churn out millions upon millions of them.

Second, and equally relevant for collectors, they likely will not be released into general circulation. It comes down to the lack of need for them them in circulation given we have so many Presidential Dollar and Native American Dollars out there. And keep in mind, many of those series haven’t been released to general circulation either.

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