2020 American Innovation Dollar
CONNECTICUT (CT)
Philadelphia and Denver
(2 coin set)
American Innovation – Connecticut
Designer: Richard Masters
Sculptor-Engraver: Renata Gordon
The Connecticut $1 Coin recognizes the Gerber Variable
Scale. The design depicts the scale being used to increase a geometric shape by
200 percent, a shape that resembles the state of Connecticut. Inscriptions are
“UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “GERBER VARIABLE SCALE,” and “CONNECTICUT.”
DESCRIPTION
The United States Mint American Innovation $1 Coin Program
is a multi-year series to honor innovation and innovators with $1 coins from
each State, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S.
Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. The United States Mint is proud
to celebrate innovation and honor the spirit of America with the 2020 American
Innovation $1 Reverse Proof Coin from the State of Connecticut— the first
release of 2020.
Before the invention of the graphing calculator, scientists
needed a clear, quick, and simple solution to understand and solve problems of
scale. The invention of the Gerber Variable Scale was that solution.
Heinz Joseph Gerber (1924–1996) invented the device while
studying aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1945,
a few years after escaping Nazi-controlled Austria with his mother. The
earliest version of the variable scale had been fashioned from an elastic band
removed from a pair of pajamas. Gerber created a rubber rule and scale that
could flow with a curve, expand, contract, and turn a corner. It allowed for
the direct numerical reading of curves, graphs, and graphical representations.
Because of its ease of use and quick solutions, the Gerber
Variable Scale was a huge success, and by the 1950s, it was considered the
universally accepted tool for engineers and architects all over the world.
This reverse design depicts the Gerber Variable Scale
being used to increase a geometric shape by 200 percent, a shape which
resembles the State of Connecticut. The inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA,” “GERBER VARIABLE SCALE,” and “CONNECTICUT.”
The obverse design features a dramatic representation
of the Statue of Liberty in profile with the inscriptions “IN GOD WE TRUST” and
“$1.” The obverse also includes a privy mark of a stylized gear, representing
industry and innovation.