01
The opening
The dark opening interrupts the masonry at the right of the image.
Grand Canyon
National Park
A canyon read through places of storage.
Small granaries above the Nankoweap Delta bring human construction into the canyon wall. The reverse is more specific than a panoramic view.
Read the reverse ⟶DenominationQuarter dollar
Weight5 troy ounces
Fineness99.9% silver
Diameter76.2 mm
Mint markNone · bullion
IssuerUnited States Mint
Reverse design anatomy
A built place
within layered stone
The Mint identifies granaries above the Nankoweap Delta in Marble Canyon, used for food and seed storage in 1050–1150 CE. A built opening, rock ledges and the river landscape share the reverse.
The following close reading describes visible forms. It does not assign undocumented intentions to the artists.
02
The ledge
The projecting ledge links the built feature with the cliff.
03
The river landscape
The distant river and valley give the close rock face its wider setting.
The place behind the coin
Material evidence.
Continuing connections.
The storage structures offer a concrete entry into human use of this landscape. Their presence does not authorize a reading of ceremonial meaning or the identification of a present-day owner from the coin alone.
What the Mint identifies
The dated storage use belongs to the granaries. It is not the age of the canyon, a construction survey or a complete cultural chronology.
U.S. Mint · design description ↗People are not only in the past
NPS identifies eleven contemporary tribes with cultural links to Grand Canyon. This ongoing relationship is distinct from the narrow archaeological scene selected for the coin.
NPS · people and associated tribes ↗- 1050–1150Storage-use period stated by the Mint
- 2010Grand Canyon coin issued
The windows are coin details, not a site plan. No spiritual meaning, tribal endorsement or universal Indigenous identity is inferred.
Same design. A larger canvas.
From pocket change
to a statement in silver
The 2010 design also belongs to the circulating quarter. At 76.2 mm, the five-ounce silver coin is 3.14 times wider by diameter—not 3.14 times heavier.
The quarter is a measured outline: an exact authorized quarter photograph is not bound for this page. It is not a miniature bullion image.
Collect with context
Know the design.
Know the object.
Reverse designer and sculptor Phebe Hemphill
- Standard bullion
- No mint mark · Authorized Purchasers · incuse edge weight and fineness.
- Collector five-ounce
- P mint mark · special finish · a separate object. Collector totals are not bullion mintages.