MINNESOTA INNOVATION DOLLAR FIRST RELEASE

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 32, 2026, Article 14

Pete Smith wrote an article on the Minnesota Innovation Dollar First Release Ceremony for the August 2026 issue of the Northwest Angle, the newsletter of the Northwest Coin Club. We're republishing it here with permission. Thanks. everyone! -Editor

On Tuesday, July 28, the Northwest Coin Club hosted a First Release ceremony for the Minnesota Innovation Dollar. Held at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, 116 enthusiastic attendees swapped $1 for one of the new dollar coins especially encased for the event. An additional seven pieces were presented to the event's speakers, staff from the History Center, and TV reporters.

In addition to our club, sponsors of the event were Greg Allen Coins LLC, Minted Assets, Gary Adkins & Associates, Mill City Numismatics LLC, Great Lakes Coins & Collectables, Grove Coin LLC, and Chewies Coins and Collectibles.

Club president John Jost welcomed visitors and introduced the speakers. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her talked about the Minnesota culture that encouraged innovation in many fields. Then, Felix Okoth, a product development engineer for Thermo King, told us some of the history of Frederick McKinley Jones who invented the mobile refrigeration unit to keep products cold during transport. Jones was the co-founder of the U.S. Thermo Control Company which became Thermo King. Trucks using his refrigeration device transported food and drugs for the troops during World War II.

Next to speak was David Kelliher, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations at the Minnesota Historical Society. He discussed the process for reviewing Minnesota innovations, selecting the subject, and providing resources for the artist.

The designer of the coin's reverse, Beth Zaiken, spoke next. With Minnesota being her home state, she felt honored that her proposed design was selected for the coin. She was selected for the Mint Artist Infusion Program in 2019 and is already credited with twenty-one coin designs with more yet to be announced.

She explained that the truck shown on the coin looks like a truck from the 1940s but was not supposed to be any specific model. Her job was to prepare a two-dimensional image of the design. A team of eight sculptor-engravers at the mint then converted her design onto the working dies.

Following the program, visitors lined up to exchange a paper dollar for one of the Minnesota Innovation dollars and to obtain the designer's autograph on one of the cards prepared for the event.

The United States Mint does not conduct first release events for the Innovation Dollars. Previous events were conducted by local organizations in Michigan on April 8, 2025, and for Texas on July 29, 2025. The Minnesota event was made possible by cooperation between the collector and dealer community. NWCC President John Jost described the process:

"Greg Allen contacted me as president of the Northwest Coin Club to see if we would be interested in participating in a release event similar to those held in Michigan and Texas. Greg sent me links to the videos of those events on YouTube. I said that our club would like to be involved and then Greg put together a couple of conference calls with Judge Steven Bieda (a leader of the Michigan event), himself, and I to begin planning the event.

Then, Greg and I worked with Chang Bullock who has connections to the Minnesota Historical Society. From there, I, Greg, Chang, and Leah Williams and David Kelliher from the Historical Society, held video meetings to plan the details. The Historical Society and Chang worked to connect with Thermo King and the coin's designer. Greg and Chang worked with the U.S. Mint. I worked with the Mayor of St Paul's husband and invited her to participate. The Historical Society notified the governor's office. Unfortunately, the governor was not able to attend."

A 5 x 7 inch card was prepared for the event with information about the coin designer, Beth Zaiken. She signed the card for visitors who bought the coin. The card will be a scarce piece of numismatic ephemera and would be a great item to include with a numismatic exhibit. This image of the card in The Northwest Angle may be the only way most people will ever see it.

The event was promoted to the local numismatic community through our club, the St. Paul Liberty Coin Club, and the Great River Regional Coin Club of St. Cloud. It was not promoted to the general public. The event was reported on KSTP-5 and KARE-11 television news that evening.

Legislation authorizing the Innovation Dollar series was signed into law by President Trump on July 18, 2018. This called for 57 coins with four varieties of each. Uncirculated coins are struck with a P or D mintmark. Proof and reverse proof coins are struck with the S mintmark. A complete set would include 228 coins. The date, the mintmark and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM are impressed on the edge.

The coin's composition is 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese and 2% nickel. The coins will not be released into circulation—they can only be purchased through the mint's website. A 25-coin roll is offered at $61 while a 100-coin bag is $154.50.