As they prepare their upcoming products for coin collectors, the United States Mint has released images of the 2024 American Innovation dollars. These $1 coins celebrate innovations hailing from Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri.
Each of the dollars, corresponding to their respective states, features the portrayal of significant achievements: the invention of the steel plow, the development of the Saturn V rocket, Dr. Bernard Lown and his creation of the direct current defibrillator, and George Washington Carver, an eminent agricultural scientist, inventor, and educator.
Introduced in 2018, the multi-year series of dollars offers reverse designs that recognize America’s ingenuity by highlighting pioneering efforts from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories.
On Jan. 25, the U.S. Mint will release their first 2024 products containing one of the four $1 coins – rolls and bags of Illinois dollars. Additional Innovation products will follow in the spring, summer, and fall, including rolls and bags for each of the other 2024 dollars, as well as proof and reverse proof sets containing all four.
U.S. Mint-published images and descriptions for this year’s four $1 coins follow.
2024 Illinois Innovation Dollar
Designer: Beth Zaiken
Sculptor: Renata Gordon
The Illinois $1 Coin features a large steel plow blade affixed to a right-handed beam and braces. Behind the plow is a stand of Big Bluestem prairie grass and a field of soil below.
2024 Alabama Innovation Dollar
Designer/Sculptor: Craig Campbell
The Alabama $1 Coin depicts the power and force of the Saturn V rocket lifting off with the Moon in the background.
2024 Maine Innovation Dollar
Designer/Sculptor: Phebe Hemphill
The Maine $1 Coin presents a profile portrait of Dr. Bernard Lown with his direct current defibrillator in operation below.
2024 Missouri Innovation Dollar
Designer/Sculptor: Eric David Custer
The Missouri $1 Coin presents a depiction of George Washington Carver gently smiling while examining a sample of his work in his laboratory. The leaves, blossoms, and fruits of a peanut plant weave between scientific equipment.
Common Obverse Design with Varying Privy Marks
Designed by Justin Kunz and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, the major obverse (heads side) elements are shared across every $1 coin in the series. They feature a profile depiction of the Statue of Liberty along with the inscriptions “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “$1.”
Except for the introductory 2018 dollar, the obverse side also features a stylized gear privy mark, symbolizing industry and innovation. The depiction of the gear changes slightly each year.
Incused Edge Inscriptions
All $1 coins have incused edges displaying the year of minting, a mint mark indicating their place of production, and the inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Dollars Not Released into Circulation
Dollar coins have not been issued into circulation since 2011. The U.S. Mint manufactures them solely for numismatic products.
