American Innovation $1 coin - Massachusetts

The telephone is considered by many in the scientific community as one of the most important and popular inventions of the 19th century. Based on the earlier invention of the electric telegraph and other ideas from all over the world, the first working model of a telephone was invented and built by Alexander Graham Bell. Since it’s first basic model 144 years ago, the telephone has come a long way from the nostalgic rotary dial telephone, the cordless telephone, the mobile phone and now the ubiquitous smartphone. The American Innovation $1 coin from Massachusetts honors the invention of this indispensable part of our daily life - the Telephone.

Every year till 2033, the U.S. mint will release 4 coins honoring the spirit of American Innovation. These will depict the ‘Statue of Liberty’ design on the obverse and a new reverse design for each coin every year to honor an innovation from each state or territory.

The Telephone - A history

The telephone owes a lot to a whole host of scientists like Baron Schilling the Russian scientist who invented the electric telegraph, Johann Phillip Reis who created the Reis telephone that helped in transmitting voice electrically for 100 meters, and Elisha Gray who filed a patent for an electromagnetic device that transmitted musical tones. Bell filed a patent for a similar device just hours after Gray and since he could show a working model of a telephone, he was awarded the patent.

Alexander Graham Bell, from his early days was interested in finding new and innovative ways to solve problems. He was deeply moved by his mother’s progressive hearing loss and was motivated as a result to work with instructors who taught speech and hearing impaired people. His extensive research on anything related to speech and hearing led him to work on building hearing devices. In 1875, he was experimenting with a device that could transmit sound using electricity. Suddenly during one of his experiments he was able to hear the sound of a clock through the device. This triggered a momentous event in history, the invention of a device that could transmit sound, the first telephone. The first words that Bell spoke to Watson through his device, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you” have become immortal since.

After successful public demonstrations of his device, Bell along with his sponsors started a company called the ‘Bell Telephone company’ in Massachusetts that successfully produced telephones for thousands of American households. After numerous mergers and name changes, it finally emerged as the ‘American Telephone and Telegraph’ company, better known as ‘AT & T’, a name we all know.

The Design

The obverse design features a dramatic representation of the Statue of Liberty in profile. The reverse design depicts the dial of an early rotary dial telephone. The reverse inscriptions are MASSACHUSETTS, TELE-PHONE and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The obverse inscriptions are IN GOD WE TRUST and $1. The incused inscriptions are 2020, Mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM.