A questionable portrait of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sitting cross-legged in a California meadow will appear on a collectible $1 coin from the U.S. Mint in 2026. It’s a great tribute to Jobs and Apple’s innovation — but you’ll need to squint pretty hard to identify the hippie-turned-techpreneur.
“This design presents a young Steve Jobs sitting in front of a quintessentially northern California landscape of oak-covered rolling hills,” the Mint said in a press release Wednesday. “His posture and expression, as he is captured in a moment of reflection, show how this environment inspired his vision to transform complex technology into something as intuitive and organic as nature itself.”
The Jobs coin — which kinda makes Apple’s late leader look like a young Ellen Degeneres — is one of four featured in the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Program, a commemorative series established to honor U.S. inventors and innovators.
Steve Jobs coin from the U.S. Mint
Although Jobs died in 2011 at the age of 56, the Apple co-founder still casts a long shadow over Silicon Valley and the tech world at large. His quest for perfection, quirky habits, mercurial nature and eventual string of world-changing products like the iPod and iPhone made him the first superstar tech CEO.
So it’s only fitting that Jobs appear on California’s coin in the American Innovation $1 Coin Program. The image of Jobs on the coin, designed by Elana Hagler and sculpted by medallic artist Phebe Hemphill, depicts the tech visionary in a cross-legged pose reminiscent of a classic photo of him relaxing in his home. (He also looks like he might be levitating on a magic carpet.)
The turtleneck he wears looks a little more turtleneck-y than the mock turtlenecks designed by Issey Miyake that Jobs wore like a uniform, but hey — we get it. It’s supposed to be Steve Jobs. You want the image to scream, “Black turtleneck!”
The Steve Jobs coin also will feature the all-caps inscriptions “United States of America” and “California,” plus “Steve Jobs” and “Make something wonderful” running around its edges.
That last bit comes from a poignant 2007 quote from Jobs:
There’s lots of ways to be, as a person. And some people express their deep appreciation in different ways. But one of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.
Each year, the Mint works with state leaders to produce a handful of these commemorative coins. California Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated Jobs for the honor earlier this year.
Other 2026 coins in the American Innovation $1 Coin Program
Images: U.S. Mint
Aside from Steve Jobs, the other three coins in the series (which started in 2018) will feature innovators and innovations from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota:
- Cray-1 supercomputer (Wisconsin): This super-nerdy coin — perhaps the best design of the bunch — depicts a “stylized aerial view of the Cray-1 supercomputer. The image emphasizes the Cray-1 not only through its shape, but also by suggesting the shape of a ‘C’ for Cray-1 and ‘computer,'” the Mint said.
- Norman Borlaug (Iowa): This coin shows the American agronomist “holding a sheaf of wheat and wheat stalks, highlighting his pioneering work developing resilient crops capable of feeding a growing global population,” the Mint said.
- Mobile refrigeration (Minnesota): Perhaps the weirdest of all, this coin features a 1940s truck with an old-school, front-mounted refrigeration unit attached to its cargo box. Images on the side of the truck show “diverse temperature-sensitive goods whose widespread transportation was made possible by this innovation,” according to the Mint. Never mind that it’s cold as crap in Minnesota — and there’s no beer amidst the carrots, cheese and drugs on the side of the truck.
More coins to come
Image: U.S. Mint
The Mint’s American Innovation $1 Coin Program will eventually showcase brainiacs and great inventions from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories.
On the flip side, all the coins showcase one of America’s enduring symbols — the Statue of Liberty.
“The obverse (heads) design of American Innovation $1 Coins features a dramatic representation of the Statue of Liberty in profile with the inscriptions ‘In God we trust’ and ‘$1,'” the Mint said. “Each annual obverse design also includes a unique privy mark of a stylized gear, representing industry and innovation. In 2026, the privy mark will also incorporate a Liberty Bell with the inscription ‘250’ to commemorate the Semiquincentennial of our Nation’s founding. The edge-incused inscriptions are ‘2026,’ the mint mark, and “E pluribus unum.'”
The Steve Jobs coin should be available from the Mint’s online store next year for $13.25. The Mint also produces collectible bundles, so keep your eyes peeled.
