New Delhi: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will soon join the ranks of inventors and innovators whose work has shaped modern life, this time, not in a product launch, but on a coin. The U.S. Mint has confirmed that Jobs will appear on the 2026 United States Innovation one-dollar commemorative coin, celebrating his contributions to technology and design.
The coin is part of the American Innovation $1 Coin Program, a national initiative started in 2018 that honors the spirit of ingenuity across U.S. states and territories. For California, Governor Gavin Newsom had earlier recommended Jobs as the face of innovation, calling him “a world-renowned innovator who encapsulates the unique brand of innovation that California runs on.”
Celebrating innovation, state by state
The American Innovation $1 Coin Program recognizes individuals and achievements that have redefined industries and improved lives through creativity and science. Each year, the U.S. Mint issues a series of coins featuring inventors, scientists, and changemakers from different states.
According to the U.S. Mint, honorees are chosen based on two key criteria, their breakthroughs must represent a “from 0 to 1” leap in their field, and their work must have had a lasting positive impact on American society. The selection process involves the U.S. Mint, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), among others.
In the past, the program has featured figures like Thomas Edison, known for more than a thousand patents including the light bulb and phonograph, and the Wright brothers, who built and flew the first airplane. More recently, innovators like Ralph Baer, the “father of video games,” and Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, have also been featured.
Why Steve Jobs was chosen
For California’s coin, the choice was clear. Jobs’ story, from a garage in Cupertino to building one of the most influential companies in the world, symbolises the innovative energy that defines the state. “Innovation and California are synonymous,” said Governor Newsom, adding that Jobs’ approach went beyond business, using technology “as a vehicle to forever change the world.”
Born in 1955 in San Francisco, Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Their first product, the Apple I, helped spark the personal computing revolution. Over the next few decades, Jobs’ vision led to the creation of devices that transformed everyday life, from the Macintosh computer and iPod to the iPhone and iPad.
The 1984 Macintosh made computers accessible to ordinary people with its graphical interface, and the iPhone in 2007 redefined how we communicate, work, and live. Jobs’ mix of technology and artistry reshaped industries, from animation to music and mobile computing.
A lasting legacy
Jobs’ influence extends far beyond Apple’s products. His obsession with simplicity and user experience set new standards for design across the tech industry. Even after his passing in 2011, his ideas continue to guide modern consumer technology.
The upcoming coin will be part of a collection that celebrates not just invention, but the people who dared to think differently. By placing Jobs alongside Edison, the Wright brothers, and Berners-Lee, the U.S. Mint acknowledges how deeply Apple’s co-founder shaped the digital era.