Nearly the entire obverse displays deeply faded red undertones, blended with gentle steel. The reverse is rich greenish olive with golden undertones, and both sides are lustrous and quite appealing. Minor rim marks are noted near star 1 and on the exactly opposing position of the reverse, but other evidence of handling is minimal. One tiny planchet flake is noted at the back of the truncation, as made.The dies in this marriage apparently did not strike enough coins to wear beyond the point where just a few light flowlines appeared in the fields. As such, Grellman die states have not been described for the variety. This coin was struck early in this combinations lifespan, lending it crisp details and a fine and uniformly satin texture in the fields. Small spikes from the dentils near stars 2, 4, and 6 are strong, as are similar but more extensive marks over MERIC on the reverse. The rims are broad and high and the details of the motifs are sharp throughout.The PCGS records indicate several examples of the Mature Head, Large Letters type at this grade and finer, but this coin is the single finest specified as Newcomb-16. One of the finest known of the variety, this specimen is ranked second finest in the Noyes Census, but tied for finest in the Grellman Census, according to the 2009 Ted Naftzger catalog.
