Cartwheel luster beams from pristine satiny surfaces, enlivening pale blue highlights and traces of mint color over the deep olive surfaces. The rich and complex patina and immaculate fields give this piece exceptional aesthetic appeal, exceeding even optimistic expectations of its numerical grade. A tiny speck midway between the base of star 4 and Libertys nose is a minuscule distraction, as is the microscopic particle sitting on the surface at the base of L in LIBERTY, waiting to be flicked away. The reverse, unflawed since the moment of minting, shows substantial die rust on a band extending from above CE of CENT, through the wreath ribbon, to below the ribbon ends at the base of the reverse. Smaller patches are seen left of A in HALF and around the bases of ITED. All half cents struck from this die marriage show nearly identical die rust, and Manley lists just a single die state. When this coin was named champion among specimens of this variety displayed at the 2009 Early American Coppers convention Half Cent Happening, Jeff Noonan described it as "flawless" and noted in the pages of Penny-Wise that "it was the winner by a wide margin over a very nice group of uncirculated pieces."
