The 2024 Missouri Innovation dollar debuts today from the United States Mint, available in rolls and bags. It is the fourth and final release of the year in the U.S. Mint’s American Innovation® $1 Coin Program and the twenty-fifth in the series overall.
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Showcased on the reverse (tails side) of the Missouri dollar is a design honoring George Washington Carver, an agricultural scientist, inventor, and educator.
"I am pleased to announce the release of the American Innovation $1 Coin for the State of Missouri," said the Honorable Ventris C. Gibson, Director of the U.S. Mint. "George Washington Carver was an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. He was the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree, and the Mint is honored to celebrate his major achievements with this coin."
Carver was born into slavery in Missouri during the 1860s, not long before the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865. As a youth, he traveled to various schools, eventually graduating from high school in Minneapolis, Kansas. His quest for knowledge led him to Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in Ames, IA, where he became the first African American student to enroll. He gained national recognition as a botanist during his time at the school, earned his master’s degree in 1896, and became the institution’s first African American faculty member.
However, he did not stay long in Iowa. He accepted a position at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama, where he taught for 47 years. During this time, he became one of the most prominent agricultural scientists and inventors of his era, promoting alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion.
"The roots of Missouri are deeply sown in the fields that grow a variety of crops like corn, soybeans, rice, and peanuts, and nobody better embodies our Missouri roots than George Washington Carver," said Missouri Governor Mike Parson. "George Washington Carver was a trailblazer in agricultural science, and his work was greatly influential in the development of the agriculture industry both here in Missouri and across the nation. We are proud to call him a son of Missouri and showcase him on Missouri’s American Innovation $1 coin."
Design for the Missouri Innovation Dollar
U.S. Mint medallic artist Eric David Custer designed the likeness of George Washington Carver that appears on the reverse of each new $1 coin. The image shows 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, accompanied by the inscription "MISSOURI." Additional inscriptions on the reverse read "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER."
All coins in the American Innovation series feature the same obverse (heads side) design of the Statue of Liberty. This design was created by Artistic Infusion Program artist Justin Kunz and sculpted by U.S. Mint medallic artist Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions on the obverse read "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "$1."
The coins also include edge-incused inscriptions of "E PLURIBUS UNUM," a mint mark (P or D) indicating the coin’s place of production, and the year "2024."
Prices, Ordering and Product Limits
Product options for the new dollar include 25-coin rolls for $34.50 or 100-coin bags for $117.50, each containing circulation-quality Maine dollars produced at either the U.S. Mint’s facility in Philadelphia or Denver.
The U.S. Mint’s online store for American Innovation products is the place to purchase the new Missouri dollar
The rolls struck in Philadelphia have a product limit of 8,400, while the Denver rolls have a limit of 7,350. The bags are limited to 3,150 from Philadelphia and 2,950 from Denver. Each option has an initial household order limit of ten.
American Innovation Coin Program
The U.S. Mint first introduced the American Innovation $1 Coin Program in 2018 with a single coin featuring the signature of George Washington, the first President of the United States, who signed the first U.S. Patent. Since then, four new coins have been released annually, each honoring an invention or innovator from a different state or U.S. territory.
2024 series of dollars include:
- Illinois $1 Coin – depicting the steel plow
- Alabama $1 Coin – showcasing the Saturn V rocket
- Maine $1 Coin – depicting the direct current defibrillator
- Missouri $1 Coin – this coin honoring George Washington Carver
While I don’t collect these American Innovation Dollars myself, I will say that by and large the obverse images of this particular series are both meaningful and dignified.
Kaiser, I’m sorry but for/to me, that has got to be the most boring, blank and incomplete obverse I can remember ever seeing on a US Coin! I don’t see what you’re seeing and I just got new glasses, lol! Could you try to convince me into trying to like/understand this obverse. Some of the reverses look fine and some don’t which is ok as we all have different likes/dislikes but this obverse, I karumba!!
Thx Kaiser!
Well, as always, Good Luck ALL!!!
I’m with you AKBOB. But then there have been many AI$ designs that I didn’t like (DE, GA, CT, SC, NH, VA, NY, NC, MS, IL, ME, and now MO). Why, oh why did I ever buy any of these mangled pieces of metal? I do think the blank planchets look better than these.
Major D,
No need for me to re-explain as my response to AKBob is clearly displayed above. Apparently this isn’t among your favorite series of coins from the Mint. Perhaps you can work out a deal advantageous to both parties by offering to swap your AIs for an equal number of their blank planchets!
A good question Major, “Why, oh why did” you purchase any, as you’ve indicated, that you dislike 48%, of what has been issued so far. Perhaps, you initially started to buy them, due to the fact, at one point, one could purchase each proof and reverse proof coin individually? That’s my guess. Sometimes, at least for me, I began collecting a given series, not having given consideration to future price hikes by the US Mint, then I bailed out. For me the P ATB 5oz and annual silver proof sets, fell victim to my aforementioned price hike description. These AI… Read more »
CaliSkier,
I collected all of the Presidential dollars, both P and D rolls, and I’m glad to say I’m done with the dollars. I sometimes wonder what percentage of our population is even aware they are being pressed.
CaliSkier,
If I had to guess, likely a fraction.
Agree 100%, Caliskier, that at a minimum six design releases a year ought to have been scheduled, thereby limiting the entire program’s run to a more workable nine years rather than a tedious fourteen.
AKBob,
Oops. I said “Obverse” when what I really meant to say was “Reverse”. This is the kind of thing that all too often happens when one gets to be this age; the car occasionally gets put into gear for the opposite direction you want it to go in!
Sorry about blowing your mind with that misconstrual; I now have to somehow make it up to you for one completely unintended but clearly impressive freakout!
Kaiser, no biggie at all! Trust me, I have done the same before and undoubtedly I’ll be doing it again in the future, lol! I got a good laugh so I’m glad you had a “ Senior” moment My Friend!!
AKBob,
Here’s a coin that won’t bore you too much?
Fewer and fewer are coming to market. The Flag label count is 297.
3 days to go!
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1619742/2020-W-50-One-Ounce-Gold-American-Eagle-V75-Privy-1-of-1945-Struck-First-Strike-PCGS-Proof-70-DCAM
Are you bidding for it? I got shut out, like so many, and every time I see what they are now selling for….well damn. Will it hit $20k?
Craig,
It’s already at the very level of moolah I paid for my current automobile.
No bids this time Craig. In 2020 I overpaid for an eBay Mint sealed box @10k. Looking back though, the expense & risk is now acceptable to me. Luck never hurts either so I’m humbled.
The only two coins I purchased in 2020 seemed to have worked out–so far! Both a Proof Keeper and it’s Burnished counterpart get along nicely together….
PS: $20k yes after buyer fees are calculated in. That has been the average for the past year so we’ll see?
All I can say here, Rick, is that you seem to be comfortable operating at a much higher “altitude” than I am. Anything over a couple of hundred bucks and you can count me out of the game.
Well I’ll tell you what Kaiser, it’s about what you keep and admire that matters the most regardless of any valuation attached to it. My only similarity as to a higher ‘altitude’ would be that I’m currently at an ‘elevation’ that’s 5,348 feet above sea level, a little over a ‘mile high’ if you will… That mini-jet by the way, it may have some questionable landing gear, but the Pilot and Rocket look entirely legit! Also, my wife has an advantage over me if I move on before her… She finds my mini Treasure AND keeps her hoard of shoes!… Read more »
Rick, there’s My Coin!!! Oh my! I’m thinking about bidding on this! Do I tell My Wife Rick?? . If I could buy it at the current bid, it’d be mine! I’m going to watch this and see how high it goes! Thx for the heads up too! I’m positive this beauty will go much higher
AKBob,
Not as a bit of advice – you didn’t ask so I would never offer – but just as something to possibly consider, I have of late begun to give more thought to the relative importance of needs and wants. It appears I am now more inclined to take a closer look at which of my desires is in fact a wish and which on the other hand is a need, the operative inspiration being that the latter category might in fact be more instrumental in allowing more reliable fulfilment than the former. Just some idle thoughts.
Yes Bob, tell your wife, it’s best that way! Besides, she’s a coin gal to a degree I gather? The only reason I don’t tell my wife is because we split bills accordingly, but with separate bank accounts. She buys her shoes with any extra$$ and mums the word. I buy my coins and mum as well = Zero $ arguments ever! Funny thing is though, later on, if I open up her old boxes–I get shoes. When she opens up my old boxes, she’ll find Treasure–literally! And that’s how I want it to be. Good luck if you click… Read more »
Rick,
AKBob ought to tell his wife: check/
Good to have own accounts: check/
Batting a thousand for sure: check/
Kudos, my friend!
Rick,
It’s amazing how a mark that’s hard to see with the unaided eye can result in such a huge price advantage for a coin.
So true, and just one of the many reasons people love to collect coins. Even coins that have the smallest of differences at first glance, and found in pocket change mind you–can alter one’s life in one way or the other. Example below……..
https://www.apmex.com/product/295174/1922-no-d-lincoln-cent-ms-64-pcgs-cac-brown-strong-reverse
Rick,
OMG squared! That just blew my mind in several different ways and directions. Goes to show how much I still have to learn about coins! Back to the drawing board, so to speak.
Thanks, AKBob, for taking it so well and for giving me a good chuckle in return. I’m sure this is what AARP means when it advises us oldsters to remain communicative and mutually supportive! 🙂
All I’ll say is ‘Nuts’.
Lug, legume or testicular?
Rocky Mountain Oysters with Baked Beans after a long, hard day working at the Tire Shop. Something Sudsy to wash it all down as well….
Ordinarily I wouldn’t say this, but I think I’m going to projectile vomit.
Well Kaiser you did ask? Lol.
One must chew their food better to prevent projectiles!
As far as eating the ‘delicacy’?
Ditto on the vomit part.
Well they do change the little privy mark each year….. that’s at least something lol
I do learn something new everyday! ✓
And what a joy that is! 🙂
Tony@GA,
I’m glad you brought that up since I keep forgetting what that little design on a coin is called. Mint marks are second nature to me, but privy marks are a bit of a stretch.
Kaiser, without my glasses I thought it was a big speck.
Yes, it is something. It would have been better if the Statue of Liberty rotated instead of the gear. And I mean rotated in the 3D sense so as to present a different view, not just turned clockwise. But that wouldn’t help what’s depicted on the reverse of the coin.
That’s a strikingly innovative idea, Major D, all the more so because no one else has brought it up previously. Essentially both the Reverse and the Obverse would then be different, the former for every coin and the latter for each year. As Arte Johnson playing the little German soldier behind the bushes so hilariously said on Laugh In, “Verrry interesting!”
For any that may be curious about or would like a refresher on the designs issued so far, re: “American Innovation® $1 Coin Program”, here is a link to the US Mint page, for the designs, year by year. The path if links aren’t your thing, is US Mint, menu, learn, coin and medal programs, American Innovation Dollar Coins.
https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/american-innovation-dollar-coins#coins
CaliSkier,
Thanks so very much. That link leads to a splendid outline of the AI Coin Series.
Indeed Kaiser and I’m glad you appreciate that. Not sure you or others know, however on that same linked USM page above, if you click on the year, in the vertical timeline, links will open to view each States coin issued, w/a brief description, in that given year. Click the “State” and the images will appear. Some readers may not have explored or noticed.
CaliSkier,
I made sure to click on everything available there. Instant AI coin course!
Good to know we won’t have long to wait for another corn coin (Iowa in 2026?) Unlike the potato coin (Idaho in 2029?). Unless Michigan surprises us with Corn Flakes in 2025 instead of the assembly line or Motown?
Major D,
Ford workers singing do wop while snacking on cereal would cover all the bases.