Thomas Edison Silver Dollar

Of all the inventions that Thomas Alva Edison worked on during his 60-year career, the light bulb was one of the hardest. His light bulb burned a little wire called a “filament” to make light…but every material he tried to use just burned up too quickly.

But Edison was a born inventor, curious and hard-working. His recipe for genius was “one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” After many trials and thousands of notes, he found that the best filament for his light bulb was a specially treated cotton thread. Even that filament burned for only a few hours in 1879…but with more work, light bulb filaments were made to last for hundreds of hours each, lighting homes and cities around the world. Today, cities glowing with Edison’s light can be seen from outer space!

Edison created or helped refine probably more modern wonders than any other one person. The work that sprang from his Menlo Park, New Jersey, lab earned him the nickname “the Wizard of Menlo Park.” This commemorative coin honors Edison for his outstanding work.