This Gem offers sensational color for a cent of this vintage and is among the best we have ever seen. The surfaces are brilliant rosy orange on both sides with the central reverse having taken on a slightly more orange tone. The color is so superb that perhaps our description from the 1984 Floyd Starr catalog says all that is necessary, "Blazing mint red, looks like it was just struck." A few microscopic flecks are detected and a couple of very small rim imperfections will catch the light if one looks closely enough.The dies progressed through a series of nine distinctive states described by Bob Grellman. This coin is his State-a, the earliest. While there was a long-broken hoard of cents in this die state, only a few survived with red surfaces, of which this is among the very finest. The early die state adds to the visual appeal as the surfaces are finely satin textured, very uniform and crisp. As such, even the finest details are sharp save for the stars closest to the coronet tip that are often flat on this variety. Here, they are simply not sharp, but they are better defined than seen on many examples.This coin is beautifully struck and immensely appealing in every respect, one of the very finest of this date and variety. PCGS has graded just three coins this high, but none finer. Listed in the Noyes Census as tied for CC#2.
