2010-P Millard Fillmore Presidential $1 Coin : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes ….

The 2010-P Millard Fillmore Presidential Dollar is a one-dollar coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint as part of the Presidential Dollar series. Congress intended to release these designs honoring America’s past Presidents to engage the American public with the nation’s history and reinvigorate the flagging golden dollar coin program.

The Fillmore Dollar was the first release of the year and was later joined by dollar coins honoring Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. Circulation quality versions of the design were struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. A Proof version was struck at the San Francisco Mint. The 2010-P (Philadelphia) version can be identified by the presence of the P mintmark on the coin’s edge.

The Last of the Whigs

Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, was born on January 7, 1800, in a log cabin in Summerhill, New York. Born into poverty, he had limited formal schooling and worked on his father’s farm before being apprenticed to a cloth maker at the age of 15. Through self-education, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1823.

Fillmore’s political career began in 1828 when voters elected him to serve in the New York State Assembly as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. He served three terms before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1832. He later joined the Whig Party, which was formed in 1833, in opposition to Andrew Jackson. After an unsuccessful bid for New York governor in 1844, Fillmore was elected New York State Comptroller.

In 1848, he was chosen as Zachary Taylor’s running mate for the Whig presidential ticket, balancing the ticket as a Northerner to appeal to a broader base. The Taylor-Fillmore ticket won, defeating Democrat Lewis Cass and his running mate William O. Butler. Martin Van Buren, who had been out of office since losing the 1840 election to William Henry Harrison, loathed Cass and played spoiler in the race, taking key votes away from the Democratic ticket in key Northern states.

The Taylor Presidency, which was mired in scandal and deep contention regarding the expansion of slavery in the new territories, ended abruptly on July 9, 1850, when Taylor succumbed to a sudden illness. With his passing, Fillmore became the second Vice President in ten years to ascend to the presidency following the death of the incumbent.

The issues facing the country only grew during Fillmore’s presidency. The escalating sectional crisis over slavery put the country on a path towards a Civil War, which Fillmore’s strong support of the Compromise of 1850 only seemed to exacerbate. The Compromise allowed the admission of California as a free state and organized the New Mexico and Utah territories with popular sovereignty (allowing residents to decide on slavery), and put into law the contentious Fugitive Slave Act.

While Fillmore believed the Compromise was essential to preserving the Union, his enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, which required federal assistance in returning escaped enslaved people, deeply alienated anti-slavery Northerners and further fractured the Whig Party. While the concept of popular sovereignty, introduced in the Compromise of 1850 by Stephen Douglas and Lewis Cass, had its inherent dangers, these became glaringly apparent later, with the outbreak of partisan violence in the Kansas Territory from 1854 to the start of the war, starting under the presidency of Franklin Pierce.

These issues condemned the Fillmore Presidency to failure, and in 1852, he failed to secure the Whig Party’s nomination for the presidency. Were it not for the even more disastrous presidencies of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, Fillmore’s partial term would be seen by historians as the worst in American history leading up to the Civil War. America’s political crisis was deep and existential, and no man was able to right the ship of state without resorting to violence.

After leaving office in 1853, Fillmore returned to Buffalo, New York, where he continued his law practice and remained involved in civic life. He was a founder of the University of Buffalo (now the University at Buffalo) and served as its first chancellor until his death. In 1856, he ran for President again as the candidate for the Know-Nothing (American) Party, a nativist and anti-immigrant political movement, winning only Maryland’s electoral votes. During the Civil War, Fillmore initially supported the Union but later became critical of Abraham Lincoln’s policies. Millard Fillmore died on March 8, 1874, in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 74, following a stroke.

Collecting the 2010-P Millard Fillmore Presidential Dollar

The Philadelphia Mint struck 37,520,000 2010-P Millard Fillmore Presidential Dollars. The coin’s release was celebrated on February 18, 2010, at a ceremony held at Moravia Central School in Moravia, New York. Although public interest in the Presidential Dollar coin program had declined since its introduction, most of the 2010-P Fillmore Dollars were distributed through the Federal Reserve Banking System.

Collectors primarily obtained these coins by purchasing 25-coin rolls from the U.S. Mint’s website for $35.95 or by acquiring the 2010 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set, which included one of each coin struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. These sets, with a face value of $13.82, were sold for $31.95 (approximately $47.25 in 2025 inflation-adjusted dollars). Today, these sets typically sell for about $30, while individual 2010-P Fillmore Dollars are valued at roughly $3, unless certified.

It’s worth noting the distinction between circulation-quality coins and those included in the 2010 Mint Set. From 2005 to 2010, the U.S. Mint used special dies and burnished blanks for Mint Set coins, resulting in a matte, satin-like finish. This process aimed to ensure a consistent appearance for Mint Set coins, but it sparked mixed reactions among collectors. Many felt compelled to purchase both rolls and Mint Sets to obtain both circulation-strike and specimen-strike coins.

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Circulation Strike Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS67 (9, 7/2025), NGC MS67 (52, 7/2025), and CAC N/A (7/2025).

• NGC MS66: eBay, June 1, 2025 – 99¢. First Day of Issue. 1 Bid.
• NGC MS66: eBay, May 24, 2025 – $2.43. First Day of Issue. 2 Bids.
• Bank Roll Uncirculated: eBay, June 4, 2025 – $36.95. Buy It Now.
• United States Mint Roll Uncirculated: eBay, May 14, 2025 – $30. 5 Bids.
• Uncirculated: eBay, June 7, 2025 – $3.80. Buy It Now.

Specimen Strike (Mint Set) Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS69 (3, 7/2025), NGC MS69 (10, 7/2025), and CAC N/A (7/2025).

• NGC MS68 SMS: eBay, April 28, 2025 – $39.95. Buy It Now.

Design

Obverse: 

Millard Fillmore faces forward, his head slightly turned towards the viewer’s left. His name is emblazoned at the top of the design, while the inscription 13th PRESIDENT 1850-1853 is placed below the portrait. The initials DE (Don Everhart) appear on Fillmore’s lapels.

Common Reverse:

Don Everhart’s reverse design features an ant’s-eye view of the Statue of Liberty offset to the left. On the coin, Liberty occupies the bottom right quadrant of the coin, her extended elbow being the coin’s center point. The design is framed by a thin inner circle, which separates the graphic design from the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Beneath Liberty’s extended torch-bearing arm is the denomination $1. This is the common reverse design for all Presidential Dollar coins.

Edge:

The edge of the Presidential Dollar is lettered and features the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, the mintmark, the year of issuance, and 13 five-pointed stars. This edge inscription may be oriented facing the obverse (Position A) or the reverse (Position B).

Coin Specifications

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