Attractive vestiges of mint color adhere to design elements on both sides, adding interest to the frosty, lustrous surfaces of this beautiful 1804 Cohen-8. The base of the obverse is pleasing tan, blending nicely with the light brown above it and the somewhat darker toned portrait. The reverse is more even light brown, barely mellowed from full mint color. The overall visual impression is lovely, and magnified scrutiny finds nothing to change that. A few little specks are seen, including a twinned pair in the lower left obverse field and another couple near the denticles above the space between STATES and OF. A single thin horizontal hairline crosses the central left obverse field. The chin spike is well developed, and elements on both sides are fully struck. This is the last marriage of this Spiked Chin obverse, following the Cohen-5, Cohen-7, and Cohen-6 varieties in that order. The tiny crack above L of LIBERTY and the lack of detail in the repolished obverse denticles denote this as Manley 3.0. It serves as the plate coin for Breens State III.Called "certainly one of the finest known" for the variety in the Missouri Cabinet catalog, this coin stands as the single finest 1804 Spiked Chin graded by PCGS, a category that includes four different die marriages.
