2015-W Mohawk Iron Workers, Enhanced Finish Proof

The 2015-W is the only West Point strike in the entire Sacagawea Dollar program and the standout collector piece of the 2015 Mohawk Iron Workers year. The U.S. Mint produced 90,023 examples in Enhanced Uncirculated finish exclusively for the 2015 American $1 Coin and Currency Set, a packaged product pairing the dollar with a Series 2013 Federal Reserve Note printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Ronald D. Sanders designed the Mohawk Iron Workers reverse and Phebe Hemphill sculpted it: a Mohawk ironworker connecting beams atop a high-rise frame, with the inscription MOHAWK IRON WORKERS along the lower field. The W mintmark below the date marks the only West Point Sacagawea ever issued. Glenna Goodacre's Sacagawea remains on the obverse, with the date, W mintmark, and E PLURIBUS UNUM on the incused edge.

Enhanced Uncirculated finish, also known as Enhanced Finish, uses laser-textured dies to selectively frost specific design elements while leaving others bright and lined, producing visual contrast distinct from both standard business-strike satin and full mirror proof finish. On the Mohawk reverse the structural steel beams take a brushed lined treatment while the worker, the beam being swung into place, and the cityscape carry frosted relief; on the obverse Sacagawea's portrait is heavily frosted against bright lined fields. The 90,023 mintage is the second-lowest figure of any Native American $1 issue, behind only the 18,313-piece 2014-D Native Hospitality Enhanced Finish from the prior year's Coin and Currency Set, and authentication is straightforward: the W mintmark and the laser-frost contrast pattern do not exist on any Philadelphia, Denver, or San Francisco strike.

The 90,023 mintage and exclusive-product distribution put the 2015-W among the genuinely scarce modern dollar issues for set collectors. Original Coin and Currency Set packaging is worth holding intact: the Federal Reserve Note matches the coin's year and the set premium evaporates if the certificate is separated. Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Company population reports show high SP69 and SP70 supply because the issue is recent and most pieces went from Mint packaging straight to grading, though the absolute population ceiling caps at the 90,023 mintage. For the Native American $1 Coin Act of 2007 and the rotating-reverse program structure, see the Sacagawea Dollar series history.