1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Small Planchet. Noe-24, Salmon 4-C, W-880. Rarity-7+. Fine Details--Excessive Clipping (PCGS).50.9 grains. An exceptional rarity in this series, and one of only seven examples known. That offered here is well worn but retains a bold tree, date and denomination, all peripheral letters at least partially discernible apart from those at right obverse and lower left reverse, which areas are soft. Clipping is straight and well executed, if extensive. Bright silver gray and glossy from a cleaning, dark carbon spots are evident at lower right obverse and on the reverse at the second Roman numeral I in the denomination. Most of the few other known specimens are just about as worn as this one.<p>Muling two previously used dies, the obverse of Noe-18 (Crosbys obverse 23) with the reverse of Noe-23 (Crosbys reverse M), this must have been a short lived marriage. This variety follows Noe-23 in the emission sequence, as the aforementioned break within the beads under the A in AN is larger than on Noe-23. Whether or not it precedes or follows Noe-18 is up for debate: it was noted in the Ford sale that none of the N.24 examples seen show any sign of obverse damage, so it is likely that when the Crosby M reverse died the obverse was then married to Crosby reverse L to make Noe 18s. However, the birds nest break seen among the upper right branches of the tree on Noe-18 is discernible (with patience) here and in close enough to the same form to make the order indeterminate. The fine die crack from the rim through the lower curve of the first letter S in MASATHVSETS is likewise present, and nearly identical, on both varieties. We remain undecided on which came first, particularly without higher grade survivors to study.<p>We have confirmed, however, that only seven examples of Noe-24 are extant:<p>1 - <strong>NGC EF-40.</strong> Ex Heritages sale of the Christopher J. Salmon Collection, Part I, August 2022 Signature Auction, lot 3328.<p>2 - <strong>PCGS VF-30.</strong> Ex Thomas Hall; Virgil Brand; Carl Wurtzbach; T. James Clarke; F.C.C. Boyd; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XII, October 2005, lot 123; Anthony Terranova, October 2006; Sydney F. Martin; our sale of the Sydney F. Martin Collection, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, lot 8197.<p>3 - <strong>Choice Very Fine.</strong> Ex our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Norweb Collection, Part I, October 1987, lot 1213; our (Stacks) sale of the Hain Family Collection, January 2002, lot 152. This coin is now in the Lasser Collection at Colonial Williamsburg.<p>4 - <strong>NGC Fine-15.</strong> Ex Lester Merkin, April 1988, to the following; our sale of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation Collection, March 2015 Baltimore Auction, lot 2407, as PCGS Fine-15; Heritages sale of the Christopher J. Salmon Collection, Part II, October 2022 Long Beach Signature Auction, lot 3479; our sale of the Muddy River Collection, November 2023 Auction, lot 2054.<p>5 - <strong>NGC Clipped.</strong> Ex Heritages sale of the Christopher J. Salmon Collection, Part IV, March 2023 Showcase Auction, lot 93093.<p>6 - <strong>Very Fine, Bent.</strong> American Numismatic Society Collection.<p>7 - <strong>PCGS Fine Details--Excessive Clipping.</strong> Ex Richard August Collection. <em><strong>The present example</strong></em>.<p>The primary Salmon coin seems to be the finest of these, claiming the title long held by the Norweb specimen. Certified grade notwithstanding, we would still give an edge to the Norweb coin over the Ford-Martin specimen, but since the census falls off precipitously in quality when we get to the other four examples, and the Norweb coin is now impounded as part of the Lasser Collection, the solid Choice Fine example from the Kendall, Salmon and Muddy River collections is the third finest Noe-24 in private hands. The Richard August coin may be at the bottom of the census, but when one recalls that many of the great collectors, including Stearns and Partrick, never owned a Noe-24 Pine Tree, the astute bidder would be unwise to let this opportunity pass.PCGS# 915762. BASE PCGS# 24. NGC ID: 2ARZ.From the Richard August Collection.
