2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 434,454 made
- Mintage
- 434,454
- Metal
- Manganese brass
- Weight
- 8.1 g
- Diameter
- 26.49 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 434,454 were made, 10th lowest of the 58 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar silver?
- No. It's manganese brass (88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel). Circulating silver dollars ended with the 1935 Peace dollar. Some Eisenhower dollars with an S mint mark were made in 40% silver for collectors, but circulation Ike dollars are copper-nickel clad.
- Where is the mint mark on a 2020 American Innovation Dollar?
- On the edge, incused with the date. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- How many 2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar coins were made?
- 434,454.
What to check on your 2020-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 2020-P (438,700 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 2020-S Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope Innovation Dollar Proof (108,400 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. These are sold in rolls, bags and sets, so most survive uncirculated. Value depends on luster and freedom from marks.
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 2020-D Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope
Denver made 434,454 of the Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope innovation dollar. Among the 4 designs of 2020 it was the second smallest Denver run, between South Carolina: Septima Clark (397,800) and Massachusetts: Telephone (436,825).
Philadelphia struck a similar number of the same design (438,700), so neither mint's version is much harder to find.
Across the whole program it sits 7th of 29 Denver designs by mintage, where the scarcest is Georgia: Trustees' Garden at 368,475.
More on the 2020-D
Denver made 434,454 Maryland Hubble dollars, the third largest Denver run of 2020 and a little behind Philadelphia's 438,700. Only the Denver South Carolina, at 397,800, was clearly scarcer that year, so the Maryland D sits in the comfortable middle of a closely bunched group. If you're building the full 2020 Denver set, this is not the coin that will hold you up.
Maryland ratified the Constitution in April 1788 as the seventh state, which placed its coin third in the 2020 release order. The telescope is a natural choice for a state that hosts so much of the mission's science and engineering. For grading, look at the curve of Earth beneath the telescope and the panels on either side: those raised surfaces carry the most metal and show rub before anything else. Denver coins sold in rolls are usually uncirculated, so the difference between a typical piece and a nice one is luster and a lack of nicks. Value runs from face value to a small premium.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 2020
West Point again struck quarters with a W mint mark for circulation, this time on all five 2020 designs.
How to recognize it
The Maryland: Hubble Space Telescope design
The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, appears on Maryland's coin because the state plays a central role in its operation. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt manages the telescope, while the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore runs its science program. The reverse shows Hubble orbiting Earth against a field of stars, with the inscription THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. Joseph Menna both designed and sculpted it. Hubble's observations have refined estimates of the age and expansion rate of the universe.
The American Innovation Dollar design
The obverse shows the Statue of Liberty in profile with IN GOD WE TRUST and $1. Each reverse honors an innovation or innovator from one state or territory, issued in the order the states joined the Union. The date, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM are lettered on the edge, which is where to look for the mint mark.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | American Innovation Dollar (2018–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2020 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 434,454 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | Manganese brass (88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.1 grams |
| Diameter | 26.49 mm |
| Edge | Lettered with the date, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM |
| Designer | Various artists |
Other 2020 American Innovation Dollar issues
Mintage: American Innovation dollars (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.