At the first major North American cat show, held at Madison Square Garden in 1895, the top award went to Cosey, a brown tabby Maine Coon; her silver collar and medal are now kept at the Cat Fanciers' Association's museum. Nearly a century later the breed reached the Pobjoy Mint's Isle of Man cat series, on the coins dated 1993.

The Maine Coon is one of the oldest breeds in North America, rooted in New England, and the largest non-hybrid domestic cat. Its shaggy, water-resistant coat is short on the shoulders and long on the belly and hind legs, and the bushy tail can be wrapped around the body for warmth. Maine adopted it as the official state cat in 1985.

This piece is a 1/20 ounce gold proof, with a frosted portrait of the cat against a mirror field, from a series that has introduced a new breed every year since 1988.