Soft blue-green iridescence is noted over uniform deep steel brown surfaces. The bold mint luster is unbroken, creating a very lively and desirable aesthetic. One small patina speck is noted on each side, one just beneath the earlobe, the other against the top of the first S in STATES. The surfaces are so nice that these are really about the only useful identifiers. A tiny depression on the rim over star 11 appears as made.A relatively early die state prior to the formation of the small obverse crack at the nose and lips, Noyes Die State-A/A. The dies are flowlined, however, so they are not "perfect" as described by Noyes. The central details are quite sharp. The peripheral details are less sharp, though the recutting on the first five stars is visible, as are the berry below AM and the spike from the leaf tip below ER.A superb coin and ranked in the Noyes Census as tied with one other for finest known. PCGS records show a few other examples of the Head of 1838 type at this grade or higher, but these include both Newcomb-2 and Newcomb-3 varieties.
