2013-S Treaty with the Delawares Proof

San Francisco struck 1,237,524 Sacagawea dollar proofs in 2013, the standard cameo issue distributed in that year's Mint Proof Set and Silver Proof Set. The figure essentially matches the 2012 proof at 1,237,415 and continues the downward drift in proof-set demand from the 2009 Three Sisters launch year (2,179,867 sets). The reverse commemorates the Treaty with the Delawares, signed September 17, 1778 at Fort Pitt between the Continental Congress and the Lenape (Delaware) Nation, the first formal written treaty between the United States and a sovereign Native nation. Susan Gamble designed it and Phebe Hemphill sculpted it. Three animals representing the principal Lenape clans, a turkey for Pele, a howling wolf for Took, and a turtle for Pukuwanku, surround a ceremonial peace pipe, with the legend TREATY WITH THE DELAWARES 1778.

Strike on the 2013-S follows the pattern Sacagawea proof collectors expect from San Francisco. Cameo (the contrast between mirrored fields and frosted devices) appears on essentially every certified example, with Deep Cameo (DCAM, where the frost is dense enough that the mirror fields read as black glass) carrying the bulk of the higher-grade population. The howling wolf's mouth, the turkey's textured plumage, and the segmented turtle shell each take frost cleanly against the proof mirrors. Hairlines from improper handling are the standard deduction since the manganese-brass alloy is softer than the silver and copper-nickel proofs collectors more commonly handle, and dark spotting on poorly stored brass-clad surfaces is the second condition issue worth checking.

The 2013-S proof is a Regular classification entry; rarity context for proofs lives in the prose rather than the badge. The 1,237,524 figure sits among the lower-tier Native American dollar proof mintages alongside the 2012 issue and below the 1.6-million-plus runs of 2009 through 2011, giving it more interest for set-builders working the post-2009 rotation than for those chasing the full proof series. Original sealed Mint Proof Sets carry the lowest premium over face plus packaging. Pulled PR69 DCAM examples trade for modest sums, with PR70 DCAM the realistic upgrade target. For the Native American $1 Coin Act of 2007 and the post-2011 distribution shift, see the Sacagawea Dollar series history.