U.S. Mint Launches Wisconsin $1 With Cray-1, Liberty Bell

With a special Liberty Bell “250” privy mark, the United States Mint today launches the 2026 Wisconsin Innovation dollar. Its reverse design features the Cray-1, the Wisconsin-built machine widely recognized as the first commercially successful supercomputer. Available in rolls and bags, the coin is the 30th issue in the Mint’s American Innovation® $1 Coin series and the second of four designs scheduled for release this year.

Designed by Seymour Cray and his team at Cray Research, the Cray-1 was first installed in 1976. It was the world’s fastest computer from 1976 to 1982 and became known for its distinctive C-shaped design, which reduced wiring length and improved efficiency. Dozens of the pioneering machines were sold, largely for military, weather, and aerospace applications.

According to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Seymour Cray “represents the best of our state, and his work has shaped countless aspects of the modern world that we know today.” Evers added, “We’re incredibly proud to recognize the Cray-1 supercomputer as an icon of Wisconsin’s capacity for innovation.”

Product options include 25-coin rolls and 100-coin bags containing circulating-quality coins struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

Design for the Wisconsin Innovation Dollar

Selected from six candidate designs, the reverse depicts a stylized, top-down view of the Cray-1 supercomputer. Its shape highlights the machine while subtly evoking the letter C, referencing both Cray-1 and computer. Inscriptions read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WISCONSIN, and CRAY-1 SUPERCOMPUTER.

The design was created by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program Designer Paul Romano and sculpted by Mint Medallic Artist John P. McGraw.

Obverse (heads side) imagery includes a depiction of the Statue of Liberty, created by Artistic Infusion Program artist Justin Kunz and sculpted by Mint Medallic Artist Phebe Hemphill. This design is common to all coins in the series. Inscriptions on the obverse read IN GOD WE TRUST and $1.

A stylized gear privy mark, representing industry and innovation, also appears on the obverse. For 2026, the privy incorporates a Liberty Bell with the inscription “250” to mark the nation’s semiquincentennial.

E PLURIBUS UNUM, the year 2026, and a mint mark (P or D) indicating the coin’s production facility are edge-incused on each coin.

Prices, Ordering and Product Limits

Wisconsin Innovation dollars are offered in 25-coin rolls for $61.00 and 100-coin bags for $154.50. That is a sharp increase from the debut pricing of the previous release in the series, the 2026 Iowa Innovation dollar, which launched in January at $36.25 for rolls and $123.50 for bags and is “currently unavailable.”

The products are available through the U.S. Mint’s online store in the American Innovation product section.

Limits are unchanged from previous issues, with 8,400 rolls from Philadelphia, 7,350 from Denver, 3,150 bags from Philadelphia, and 2,950 from Denver. A household order limit of 10 units per product applies.

American Innovation Dollars for 2026

The U.S. Mint’s American Innovation $1 Coin Program began in 2018 with a single coin commemorating George Washington’s signing of the first U.S. patent. Since then, the series has featured four new issues each year, with each coin recognizing an innovation associated with a different state.

The four 2026 American Innovation $1 Coins include:

• Iowa $1 Coin, honoring Dr. Norman Borlaug and his pioneering work in agronomy
• Wisconsin $1 Coin, featuring a stylized aerial view of the Cray-1 supercomputer
• California $1 Coin, depicting a young Steve Jobs seated in a northern California landscape
• Minnesota $1 Coin, showing a 1940s-era truck equipped with an early front-mounted refrigeration unit

When completed in 2032, the series will include coins celebrating invention and innovation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories.

In addition to bags and rolls, the 2026 American Innovation dollars will also appear in a reverse proof set scheduled for release this fall.