1652 Oak Tree Sixpence. Noe-17.5, Salmon 4-X, W-370. Rarity-8. IN on Obverse. Extremely Fine, Environmental Damage.

30.0 grains. A new discovery as of its offering in our August 2021 ANA Auction, for many decades this legendary rarity in the Massachusetts silver series was known by just a single example. Noe-17.5 is an intermediate, heavily reworked state of this die pair, falling in between the Noe-17 "Hydra Tree" variety and the extremely rare Noe-18. While it was technically the same dies used to coin all three, the extent of the reworking of the detail and the considerably different appearance of each makes them of interest to specialists as essentially distinct varieties and they are collected as such. The previously known example of Noe-17.5 traces its history back to Carl Wurtzbach who purchased the coin from Thomas Elder in 1935; it is pictured in the Wurtzbach photo album of Massachusetts silver coins. It then went on to T. James Clarke and F.C.C. Boyd, but its status as a distinct and new state of the Noe-17, Crosby 4-C variety wasn't fully realized until its appearance in New Netherlands' 60th Sale of December 1968, where Walter Breen described the diagnostics as follows: Unlisted. "Noe 17.5." Dies of Crosby 4-C, after drastic clashing and reworking to restore details, and after a second worse clashing, but before reworking to make Noe 18. MASATHVSETS (: ?) (I)N:, wide V over small V, three trunk lines and coarse cross-hatchings to tree, rather than two lines and fine cross-hatchings as seen on Noe 17, 17.1; form now similar to Noe 23, 25. Rev. (NEW)ENGLAND:ANDOM (. ?), date very high, no colon after AN, large A over small A in ANDOM, beaded circles and letters reworked. The Wurtzbach-Clarke-Boyd specimen most recently appeared in Heritage's August 2022 sale of the Christopher J. Salmon Collection, where it was certified EF-45 by NGC and realized $3,286. This remarkable second example was found through metal detecting 15 years ago and was cherished by its finder until offered in our aforementioned auction of August 2021. Here it is making only its second auction appearance in the numismatic market. The dusky gray surfaces are finely granular, as is to be expected after ground burial, but there is no heavy roughness or additional damage to detract from the appearance. Large planchet split at 6 o'clock relative to the obverse and a smaller one at 7 o'clock, both as made. Dies are rotated 90 degrees CCW as seems to be the case on all other examples of Noe-17, 17.5, and 18. Some microscopic tooling scratches are noted around the tree and some of the reverse letters and numerals, but are only visible under strong magnification. The detail is quite sharp throughout, practically unworn, and it appears this coin circulated little if at all. The tree is full and bold, as are the vast majority of the legends with just slight weakness at the right side obverse due to strike. All of the diagnostics that define the variety are fully appreciable and show more definition at the lower obverse and opposing right side of the reverse than does the original discovery coin. Needless to say, here is an exciting opportunity for advanced Massachusetts silver collectors - the chance to add to their cabinets an excellent representative of a nearly unobtainable variety.

PCGS# 45360. NGC ID: 2ARJ.

From the Muddy River Collection. Earlier from our ANA Auction of August 2021, lot 1004.