2016-S Shawnee Proof

San Francisco opened the 2016 ATB proof slate with Susan Gamble's Shawnee design at 1,093,510 pieces, the figure matching the U.S. Mint Clad Proof Set sales total because the five 2016 quarters shipped as a packaged product. The reverse renders Camel Rock, a sandstone formation in Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois that derives its name from the silhouette its profile cuts against the surrounding hill country. A red-tailed hawk in flight occupies the upper field above the rock. The Shawnee forest covers roughly 280,000 acres across the unglaciated hills of southern Illinois between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the only national forest in the state. The issue is the first of five 2016 releases.

Proof finish on the issue is the standard San Francisco style: mirrored fields struck from polished planchets against dies frosted in chemical baths before each press run. Cameo (CAM) and Deep Cameo (DCAM) are the contrast designations PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, apply on top of the numeric grade, with DCAM the default outcome rather than an upgrade tier. Grade distribution clusters at PR69-DCAM and PR70-DCAM with population counts in the thousands at the top. The diagnostic strike areas are the layered sandstone texture on Camel Rock's profile and the wing-feather detail on the red-tailed hawk above, both fine-relief points that flatten under weak press pressure. 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 is essentially nil at the issue's price point.

The issue routes through year-set or design-set assembly and trades in the lower band typical of modern clad proofs. A raw certified PR69-DCAM example moves for a small premium over the cost of breaking up a sealed 2016 Clad Proof Set, and PR70-DCAM examples in NGC or PCGS holders sit at a modestly higher tier. The 1.09 million print run is roughly 84,000 pieces below 2015's figure, part of the steady proof-set sales contraction that continued from 2014 through 2017. The Shawnee design draws topical attention from Illinois-state and Midwest-geology collectors but does not break from its sister designs in the broader market. For the broader story of the ATB proof program and the series' production arc, see the Washington ATB series history.