1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Large Planchet. Noe-11, Salmon 9-F, W-760. Rarity-4. No H in MASATVSETS. EF-40 (PCGS).

70.9 grains. Offering charming EF quality for the type and Noe number, this piece exhibits iridescent powder blue and champagne-pink undertones on dominant warm olive-gray toning. The strike is fairly well centered on a pleasantly round planchet, although the edge is into the tops of the peripheral letters at lower right obverse and lower left reverse. Softness is confined to those areas, with all other features bold to sharp, inner beaded borders complete, focal devices in centers crisp for the grade. Smooth in hand with no mentionable blemishes apart from a couple of extremely faint pin scratches in the upper right reverse field above the digit 2 in the date. With Fine and VF examples populating much of the census for the Noe-11 Pine Tree shilling, this piece offers an uncommon amount of detail and superior eye appeal. Crosby was onto something when he made the reverse of this variety his reverse A; namely, it looks a lot more like it belongs among the Oak Trees than among the Pine Trees. Noe chose to position this variety at the end of the Large Planchets, an order maintained by Salmon. Perhaps another author will someday reorder this series and place this closer to the Oaks, where it seems to belong.

PCGS# 23. NGC ID: 2ARW.

From the Muddy River Collection. Earlier from Heritage's sale of the Wesley Van Olden Collection of Colonial Coinage, September 2003 Long Beach Signature Sale, lot 5013; Heritage's FUN Signature Auction of January 2017, lot 3009.