Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has chosen Jimi Hendrix as the state's submission to the U.S. Mint's American Innovation $1 Coin Program, with the coin scheduled for release in 2029. The Seattle-born guitarist beat out four other finalists picked by a state advisory committee, marking what coverage describes as the first time a musician has been selected for the nationwide coin series.
A Guitarist Chosen Over Bruce Lee and a Tribal Leader
According to The Chronicle, Ferguson selected Hendrix from five finalists after a state advisory committee unanimously approved the shortlist for his consideration. That list of finalists included Bruce Lee, Nisqually tribal leader Billy Frank Jr., the Medic One and Medic Two emergency medical programs, and a proposal centered on Indigenous ecosystem management, according to the seed reporting from the Kitsap Sun. Ferguson explained his choice by pointing to Hendrix's impact on his instrument and his ties to the state. “Jimi Hendrix's historic innovation on guitar and his deep roots in Washington make him a great choice to represent our state,” he said, per The Chronicle.
Washington Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti was selected by Ferguson to serve as the state's official liaison to the U.S. Mint, per the Kitsap Sun's reporting. With that submission made, the state will next move into developing the coin's design, a process that includes consultation with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and public review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury has the final say on the design, according to The Chronicle.
A Seattle Childhood That Shaped a Guitar Icon
Hendrix was born in Seattle and attended Horace Mann Elementary School, Washington Junior High and Garfield High School, per the Kitsap Sun. He played his first show in 1959 at Temple De Hirsch in Seattle, and he was known for pioneering the use of feedback and other electronic elements in guitar playing, the outlet reports. He is buried in Renton, Washington.
Sources differ on the year Hendrix was born in Seattle: KUOW reports he was born Johnny Allen Hendrix at Seattle's King County Hospital in 1942, while The Chronicle reports his birth year as 1947.
Estate and Governor Reflect on the Honor
Janie Hendrix, a representative of Jimi Hendrix's estate, told KUOW the coin celebrates her brother's legacy. She said the recognition could inspire Pacific Northwest children to dream beyond their beginnings, according to the same outlet's report. The honor follows Ferguson's 2025 decision to award Hendrix the Washington Medal of Merit, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the state, per the Kitsap Sun.
Rolling Stone ranked Hendrix first on its list of the 250 greatest guitarists of all time in 2023, describing him as an innovator who influenced rock, metal, funk and other genres, the Kitsap Sun notes.
How Washington's Pick Fits a Fifty-State Lineup
The American Innovation $1 Coin Program is run by the U.S. Mint and began issuing commemorative coins in 2019, with four new coins released each year honoring innovation and innovators in each state, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, per The Chronicle. KUOW reported that 32 states had already been represented in the series as of its report. Other states have taken sharply different routes: California's 2026 coin features Steve Jobs and the phrase “Make something wonderful,” while Minnesota's coin highlights mobile refrigeration technology that changed how sensitive goods could be transported, according to KUOW. FOX 13 Seattle reported that Iowa chose agriculture as its theme, placing Washington's musical pick in rare company. “Washington, so far, is the first state to choose anything music-related,” per FOX 13 Seattle.
Washington's coin is slated to appear alongside Idaho, Wyoming and Montana in the Mint's 2029 release lineup, the Kitsap Sun reports. The program is expected to continue issuing coins through 2032, when Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands round out the series, according to the same report. For now, the Mint's process for finalizing a coin's design begins with a request to the governor's office to appoint a project liaison, according to the U.S. Mint — a step Washington has already completed with Pellicciotti's appointment, though the coin's eventual artwork has not yet been determined.
