Oak Tree Shilling
1652 Oak Tree Shilling. Noe-2, Salmon 1-B, W-440. Rarity-7. IN at Left. Fine-12 (PCGS).
69.0 grains. A fully original, thoroughly appealing example of this elusive Oak Tree shilling variety. Deep dove-gray patina yields to lighter silver-mauve on the high points. The latter are mostly associated with waviness in the planchet, typical of these coins struck on a rocker press, and which feature also helps to explain the softness of detail in many areas. Even so, many of the peripheral letters on the reverse are just plain old softly struck, characteristic of this variety. There are no marks of consequence on either side and a short, sharp planchet crack at 10 o'clock relative to the obverse is as made. The Noe-2 Oak Tree shilling is a very rare variety, easy to discern from the similar Noe-1 by virtue of its medal-turn alignment rather than the typical coin-turn alignment of the Noe-1. Another major distinction between the two varieties is the rosette punctuation before NEW on the reverse of Noe-2. The rarity of this variety was recognized early on and was expressed well in the cataloging of the 1966 Stearns sale: "N-2 is the only Oak Tree with a rosette. It is almost impossible to obtain." The Boyd-Ford collection included just one specimen; the 1970 Appleton-MHS sale, Garrett, Picker, and Oechsner had none.
PCGS# 45361. NGC ID: 2ARK.
From our (Stack's) sale of September 1992, lot 1. Lot tag included.
Estimate: $3000
Price realized | 3'600 USD |
Starting price | 1 USD |
Estimate | 3'000 USD |