Almost 15 years after his death, Apple’s late founder has been selected to appear on a commemorative coin celebrating American innovation and the state of California.
In 2026, as part of the nation’s Semiquincentennial, the US Mint has announced four additions to its American Innovation $1 coin program. These represent the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, California, and Minnesota. Steve Jobs, unsurprisingly, is on the California coin.
The tails side of the California coin depicts a young Steve Jobs sitting in front of what the blurb describes as “a quintessentially northern California landscape of oak-covered rolling hills” and enjoying a quiet moment of reflection. The cross-legged pose is spot-on, as is the turtleneck/jeans/sneakers combo, but based on the publicity pictures, the likeness isn’t perfect. He looks a tiny bit like Princess Diana. The choice of denomination also has a pleasing aptness to it, since for many years, Jobs’ salary at Apple was a nominal $1 a year. (He joked that 50¢ was for showing up, and the other 50¢ was a performance-related bonus.)
There are four phrases inscribed around the picture: California, United States of America, Steve Jobs, and “Make something wonderful.” The latter is a snippet from a 2007 video in which Jobs discusses ways to be as a person. “One of the ways that people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity,” he says, “is to make something wonderful.” It’s a pretty good and very concise distillation of Jobs’ philosophy and best qualities.
The coins can be purchased directly from the U.S. Mint, and, perhaps appropriately for a product with an Apple connection, cost slightly more than you might expect. The cheapest way to get one is a roll of 25 coins for $61 ($2.44 per coin), or you can get 100 for $154.50 ($1.55 per coin). The U.S. Mint ships to most countries for an additional $17.90 shipping fee plus a $2.95 handling fee per item.
For completeness, this year’s other coins celebrate mobile refrigeration (Minnesota), agronomist Norman Borlaug (Iowa), and Cray supercomputers (Wisconsin).
The American Innovation program was announced in 2018 and will eventually include a $1 coin for every state, plus coins for the District of Columbia and each U.S. territory. Previous subjects include naval engineer Raye Montague (Arkansas), agricultural scientist George Washington Carver (Missouri), and the first human lung transplant (Mississippi). In 2027, the Mint will release coins representing Kansas, Nevada, Oregon, and West Virginia.
