The American $1 Innovation Coin, representing Tennessee, commemorates the formation of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1933, Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build transmission lines to serve "farms and small villages that would not otherwise be supplied with electricity at reasonable rates." As recently as the mid-1930s, nine out of ten rural homes had no electricity.

Between 1933 and 1944, TVA built 16 hydroelectric dams in the Tennessee Valley. Thanks to the power of TVA projects, Tennessee quickly became the nation's largest utility provider.

TVA established a pilot farmer-owned rural electric cooperative to serve the area around Tupelo, Mississippi. The cooperative was successful, and the federal government created a special agency dedicated exclusively to rural electrification, the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

REA provided loans and other assistance to rural organizations creating their own energy systems. By 1939, REA had helped create 417 rural electric cooperatives throughout the United States. Most rural electrification is the result of these cooperatives.

The obverse depicts the Statue of Liberty in profile. The obverse also features a secret symbol of a stylized mechanism, symbolizing industry and innovation.

The reverse shows a farm in Tennessee with newly installed power lines along the road.