2010-S Great Law of Peace Proof

San Francisco struck 1,689,216 proof Sacagawea dollars in 2010 carrying the Great Law of Peace reverse, distributed almost entirely through the U.S. Mint's Annual Proof Set and its companion Native American Dollar single-coin and rolled product offerings. The figure tracks below the 2009 proof issue (2,179,867) and continues the steady drift downward that runs through the 2010s for proof Sacagawea production. The reverse design is Thomas Cleveland's Hiawatha Belt and bound arrows, sculpted by Charles L. Vickers, depicting the founding of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy by five nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca) under the Great Law brought by the Peacemaker and Hiawatha. The proof format presents the design at full intended resolution: mirrored fields surround frosted devices, and the individual wampum-belt figures, the bundled arrow shafts, and the inscription "GREAT LAW OF PEACE" all register with detail that bag-quality circulation strikes simply cannot show.

For the 2010-S specifically, the live grading question is cameo contrast and field cleanliness. Deep Cameo (DCAM at the Professional Coin Grading Service, Ultra Cameo at the Numismatic Guaranty Company) describes the strongest contrast tier between mirrored fields and frost-textured devices, and 2010-S examples typically achieve it without difficulty: dies were fresh and finishes were applied uniformly. Field hairlines from improper handling (cleaning, wiping, mishandled removal from the original Mint package) are the routine downgrade, particularly on examples cracked out of original government packaging and resubmitted raw. Edge lettering with date, mintmark, and "E PLURIBUS UNUM" should read crisply; partial or weak edge legends on a coin presented as proof are a counterfeit warning rather than a die-state issue.

The 2010-S is a Regular classification piece, with PR69DCAM the standard ceiling for collector pricing and PR70DCAM the registry-set chase grade. The proof reads more rewarding on the Great Law of Peace reverse than on the 2000 through 2008 Soaring Eagle proofs because the design carries more incident detail (figure separation in the belt, individual arrow shafts) for the proof process to highlight. Original Mint-packaged sets remain the most efficient acquisition path for collectors who want the coin alongside its companion 2010 proof set issues. For the program's full arc and annual design schedule, see the Sacagawea Dollar series history.