1 Dollar (Thomas Alva Edison)

The Coin That Honors the Night the Lights Came On

One night in October 1879, a thread of carbonized cotton glowed inside a glass bulb in Menlo Park, New Jersey, and kept glowing for more than half a day. A century and a quarter later, the U.S. Mint cast that moment in silver — and used the proceeds to fund the very museums that keep Edison's story alive.