(WLUK) — Wisconsin’s tech legacy will be honored with a design on an American Innovation $1 coin, the U.S. Mint announced.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Mint released the designs for the the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Program. The multi-year series began in 2018.
The 2026 designs honor innovations and/or innovators from Iowa, Wisconsin, California, and Minnesota.
The multi-year series, beginning in 2018, honors American innovation and significant innovation and pioneering efforts of individuals or groups by issuing $1 coins with designs emblematic of innovation in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories. The Mint works with the office of the Governor or other Chief Executive for each state, territory, or city, along with subject matter experts, to determine design concepts emblematic of innovation that are significant and meaningful to its jurisdiction and/or its role in the Nation. The Secretary of the Treasury selects the final design for each coin.
Cray-1 Supercomputer – Wisconsin
This design exhibits a stylized aerial view of the Cray-1 supercomputer. Cray computers was based in Chippewa Falls and is now owned by HPE.
- Designer: Paul Romano, Artistic Infusion Program Designer
- Sculptor: John P. McGraw, Mint Medallic Artist
Dr. Norman Borlaug – Iowa
This design depicts Dr. Norman Borlaug holding a sheaf of wheat and wheat stalks, highlighting his pioneering work developing resilient crops capable of feeding a growing global population. I
- Designer: Don Everhart, Artistic Infusion Program Designer
- Sculptor: Eric David Custer, Mint Medallic Artist
Steve Jobs – California
This design presents a young Steve Jobs sitting in front of a quintessentially northern California landscape of oak-covered rolling hills. His posture and expression, as he is captured in a moment of reflection, show how this environment inspired his vision to transform complex technology into something as intuitive and organic as nature itself.
- Designer: Elana Hagler, Artistic Infusion Program Designer
- Sculptor: Phebe Hemphill, Mint Medallic Artist
Mobile Refrigeration — Minnesota
This design features a 1940s-era truck with an early front-mounted refrigeration unit. The icons adorning the side of the truck identify the diverse temperature-sensitive goods whose widespread transportation was made possible by this innovation.
- Designer: Beth Zaiken, Artistic Infusion Program Designer
- Sculptor: Joseph V. Noorigian, Mint Medallic Artist
The obverse (heads) design of American Innovation $1 Coins features a dramatic representation of the Statue of Liberty in profile with the inscriptions “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “$1.” Each annual obverse design also includes a unique privy mark of a stylized gear, representing industry and innovation. In 2026, the privy mark will also incorporate a Liberty Bell with the inscription “250” to commemorate the Semiquincentennial of our Nation’s founding. The edge-incused inscriptions are “2026,” the mint mark, and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
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