2010-S Yosemite, Silver Proof

Joseph Menna's view of El Capitan, the 3,000-foot granite face that anchors Yosemite Valley's north wall, sits on the reverse of this 2010-S issue, struck at San Francisco on a 90% silver planchet at 6.25 grams with the .900 fine composition standard for silver proof quarters since 1992. The Mint reported 585,401 silver proof sets sold for 2010, the figure that anchors the print run on every one of the year's five silver entries. The third release in the inaugural ATB silver proof slate, the issue follows Hot Springs and Yellowstone in the program's chronological order and is the first ATB silver proof to depict a single geologic landmark without flora, fauna, or architectural framing in the composition.

Authentication on the issue rests on the 6.25-gram weight against 5.67 grams for the parallel clad proof, the half-gram spread any precision scale can resolve in a non-destructive check. The reeded edge runs solid silver around the perimeter without the reddish copper-core line a clad strike shows when held at an angle to a light source. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, label the slab insert with Silver or the S/Ag abbreviation alongside the proof designation. Cameo (CAM) and Deep Cameo (DCAM) are the two contrast tiers assigned on modern silver proofs, with DCAM the dominant outcome because the dies are chemically etched before each press run. The fine texture across the face of El Capitan and the device-to-field boundary along the granite silhouette are the strike grading diagnostic points.

The issue trades at modern silver-proof pricing, with PR69-DCAM examples a modest premium over the 0.1808 ounce silver-weight value and PR70-DCAM examples at a tier above. Registry-driven demand on the silver run softened through the 2010-2012 stretch as silver moved through its 2011 cyclical peak and the proof set market cooled, and the issue currently functions as a 2010 silver-set component rather than a standalone target. The Yosemite design is widely judged the strongest of the year's five reverses on aesthetic grounds because Menna's minimal-foreground composition lets the granite face read at coin scale. For the broader story of the ATB Silver Proof program and the series' production arc, see the Washington ATB series history.