2011-S Glacier Proof

The 2011-S Glacier Proof is the second design in San Francisco's second ATB proof year, struck against the 1,268,958-set production figure that anchors every 2011 clad proof issue. Barbara Fox's reverse renders a Rocky Mountain goat standing on a rocky outcrop above a snow-fed creek, with the peaks of Mt. Reynolds visible across the basin. The composition uses a single dominant figure rather than landscape sweep, which suited the proof process well: polished fields throw the field mirror across the open sky and water while the frosted goat hair, rocks, and conifers carry the heavy device contrast that defines Deep Cameo work. Glacier was established as a national park in 1910, ten months before the National Park Service itself existed.

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 goat's hair and the conifer texture is heavy and dense and the field mirror is unbroken. Look at the goat's facial detail and the foreground rock texture for strike grading. Late-die-state examples show flattening across the finer hair lines on the goat's flank and at the smaller conifer clusters along the ridge. 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 distribution, with the real climb at PR70-DCAM rather than at the Deep Cameo break. The wildlife subject draws a small additional demand bump from animal-themed collectors compared with the architectural designs in the 2011 group. For the broader story of the ATB proof program and the series' production arc, see the Washington ATB series history.