2010-D Mount Hood

Denver's 2010 Mount Hood production came in at 33,600,000 pieces, the lowest Denver figure of the 2010 ATB launch year and 800,000 below Philadelphia's 34,400,000. The Denver mintage echoed the Philadelphia Yellowstone total to the unit, suggesting the mint set comparable production-shift targets across the year and adjusted execution by design. Phebe Hemphill's reverse, with Mount Hood reflected in Lost Lake, marked the program's first National Forest honoree (the underlying federal land is the Mt. Hood National Forest, not a National Park). The Denver striking is identical to Philadelphia except for the D mintmark beside the Washington portrait on the obverse.

Strike characteristics on the issue concentrate at the lake-reflection element, which is the most fragile design feature and the first to flatten as dies wear. Denver dies during the late 2010 production run held detail reasonably well; collectors examining slabbed examples typically check the reflection ripples and the snow-cap texture on the mountain peak as the two grading-decisive areas. The clad composition is standard (75% copper-nickel outer layers over a pure copper core, 5.67 grams, 24.26 mm diameter, reeded edge). Authentication is a non-issue for modern clad coinage, and the high-grade slabbed market runs through PCGS and NGC (the two leading third-party grading services) rather than raw-coin verification channels.

The 2010-D Mount Hood reads as a Regular common date with the usual premium structure: minimal value through MS66, a modest premium at MS67, and a steeper jump at MS68 where the population thins. The issue closed out 2010 ATB production and represents the final design of the program's launch year. Series builders working through the 56-coin complete run typically acquire the 2010 P-D Mount Hood pair as a tier purchase alongside the other four 2010 designs, since all five share comparable supply and pricing dynamics at every grade through MS67. For the broader story of the ATB program, the 2008 authorizing legislation, and the series' design arc, see the Washington ATB series history.