The Mouse that Roared -Ted Naftzger, from his paper envelope, 1984Sensational mint luster gives this coin a stunning appearance. Incredible cartwheels on both sides accentuate the patina dominated by light golden olive with soft steel blue overtones. Even under close inspection the surfaces are basically pristine. The combination of the superb quality and die state inspired Ted Naftzger to describe this coin on his envelope as "Mint State-67 golden olive THE MOUSE THAT ROARED." Just the faintest partial fingerprints are seen near stars 1 and 2, and over the coronet tip, but these mostly require magnification to be discerned.This coins advanced state corresponds to Noyes Die State-D/B. The obverse bears the "mouse" break atop Libertys head, one of the more charming late-state breaks in the large cent series largely due to its nickname. It is well developed on this specimen, which is so sharp that the mouse break has a fine texture as if it has fur. The obverse die was slightly out of alignment resulting in missing dentils around the left half of the obverse, countered by well-pronounced ones toward 3:30. The reverse is nicely centered on the flan. Fine cracks are seen from the bust tip to star 1, and from Libertys nose point toward star 2. What appears to be a nick on the forecurl and forehead is actually part of a strong double profile that may also be detected at the nose tip.This is the finest known specimen of the variety and a coin that has graced several of the most important large cent cabinets in history. The earliest we are aware of is that of Peter Mougey, whose coins sold after his death in 1908 to William H. Woodin. As Woodin did not collect coppers, he parted with Mougeys superb cents while keeping the silver and gold coins that represented upgrades to his spectacular cabinet. When the Mougey Collection was consigned to Thomas Elder in 1910, the coppers remained undisturbed. Elder, without naming names in his foreword to the 1910 sale, clarified that the "Mougey Collection of cents, [was] complete as Mr. Mougey left it…" Concerning other denominations of Mougeys cabinet, he clarified further in a footnote, "…no pieces have been removed from Mr. Mougeys collections of half dollars, quarters, dimes, half dimes, cents, half cents or paper money." Such was not the case among the gold coins and silver dollars.Elder referred to Mougeys cents as "especially notable" with "too many finest known pieces every here and there to record on this page." The collection included not just superior quality specimens, but also a clear focus on different types throughout. Mougeys was by no means a date set, it was the cabinet of a studied numismatist. Elder added further that "practically every piece is perfectly preserved." This coin is typical of the quality found in the Mougey Collection, a collection (not unlike that of D. Brent Pogue) that would have been thrilling to see intact. This was the finest known example of the "Tuft variety," as Elder called it in 1910, and now, more than a century later, nothing has come to light to surpass it.
