2010-S Mount Hood Proof

The 2010-S Mount Hood Proof closes the inaugural ATB proof year, the fifth and final San Francisco clad proof issue struck against the 1,397,219-set production figure that anchors every 2010 design. Phebe Hemphill's reverse renders the symmetric snow-capped cone of Mt. Hood seen across Lost Lake, with a fringe of evergreens framing the reflection in the foreground water. The site choice broke pattern with the rest of the 2010 group: Mt. Hood is a National Forest under U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction rather than a National Park under National Park Service jurisdiction, making the design the first to honor a USDA-managed federal site in the series. That decision opened the program to non-NPS federal lands and set the precedent for later National Forest and National Wildlife Refuge designs further into the run.

Authentication on the issue starts with the S mintmark above Washington's head and the surface contrast that defines modern proof work. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC apply two cameo designations that drive most of the market value: Cameo (CAM), strong mirror-to-frost contrast, and Deep Cameo (DCAM), where the frost on the mountain cone and the foreground evergreens is heavy and dense and the field mirror is unbroken. Look at the snowfield texture along the upper cone and the water reflection across the lake for strike grading. The composition's heavy field area, sky above the peak and the open lake surface, gives the polished field plenty of mirror real estate for a strong proof presentation. The clad composition (75% copper-nickel over a pure copper core, 5.67 grams, 24.26 mm) matches every Washington quarter struck since 1965, so counterfeit risk on the modern alloy is functionally zero.

As a collecting target, this is a Regular-classification issue widely available in PR69-DCAM across both major services and steadily supplied in PR70-DCAM at a workable premium. Pop reports for the date show standard 2010 distribution, with the real climb at PR70-DCAM rather than at the Deep Cameo break. The piece occasionally draws extra attention from regional collectors in the Pacific Northwest, the only meaningful demand premium attached to the design. For the broader story of the ATB proof program and the series' production arc, see the Washington ATB series history.