2020 $1 American Innovation- Connecticut Coin

The United States Mint American Innovation $1 Coin Program is a multi-year series 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. The American Innovation $1 Coins in the rolls and bags have uncirculated finishes and were minted at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. The Connecticut coin is the first minted in 2020.

The American Innovation $1 Coin representing Connecticut honors the Gerber Variable Scale. While in college, Heinz Joseph Gerber invented a scale that could flow with a curve, expand, contract, and turn a corner. Many consider this scale to be the most revolutionary engineering tool since the slide rule. By the 1950s, the variable scale was one of the most widely used tools for engineers and architects worldwide. Though calculators and computers have replaced it, Gerber’s scale was integral to the scientific advancements of the 20th century.

The reverse (tails) design depicts the Gerber Variable Scale being used to increase a geometric shape resembling the State of Connecticut by 200 percent. The inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “GERBER VARIABLE SCALE,” and “CONNECTICUT.”

The obverse (heads) design features a dramatic representation of the Statue of Liberty in profile with the inscriptions “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “$1.” The obverse also includes a privy mark of a stylized gear, representing industry and innovation.

The year of minting, mint mark, and the inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” are incused on the edge of the coins.