2026-P Iowa

Philadelphia struck the 2026 Iowa American Innovation Dollar as the program's twenty-ninth state design, in ratification order, since Iowa joined the Union on December 28, 1846. The reverse honors Dr. Norman Borlaug, the plant pathologist born March 25, 1914, near Cresco in Howard County, Iowa, whose semi-dwarf wheat varieties seeded the Green Revolution and reshaped grain production across India, Pakistan, Mexico, and the wheat-growing belts of Latin America from 1944 onward. The design, by Artistic Infusion Program artist Don Everhart and sculpted by Medallic Artist Eric David Custer, depicts Borlaug holding a sheaf of wheat. Reverse inscriptions read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IOWA, NORMAN BORLAUG, and FATHER OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION, the editorial title bestowed on Borlaug after his 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. The obverse Statue of Liberty by Justin Kunz carries a special 2026 privy mark adding a Liberty Bell with the inscription 250 to commemorate the United States Semiquincentennial.

The 2026-P follows the now-stable Innovation Dollar Philadelphia production pattern: roll and bag distribution through the U.S. Mint catalog, no general circulation release, and steady manganese-brass strike quality with occasional softness at the wheat-head tips. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, both grade the issue, and program populations consistently drop off at MS68, with MS69 scarce and MS70 genuinely rare for circulation strikes. The Philadelphia entry is the second Innovation Dollar to honor a Midwest agricultural innovation in consecutive years, following the 2024 Missouri George Washington Carver design.

Final mintage figures for the 2026-P will be reported once the U.S. Mint publishes its annual production data; until then the entry sits with mintage to be reported after release. Classification stays Regular, with pricing tracking roll-fresh availability rather than rarity. The acquisition path is the same as every recent Philadelphia entry in the program: original Mint rolls or bags at modest premiums over face, then graded singles for the registry tier. For broader program context, see the American Innovation Dollar series history.