73.9 grains. An exceptionally well preserved example with warmly toned, mostly pearl gray surfaces. Iridescent blue-gray and antique gold flash into view at more direct light angles. The planchet is highly irregular with a straight clip at 3 oclock, curved clip at 12 oclock, and a prominent lamination at the lower borders that is most extensive on the reverse at the M in DOM and the following ornament. The letters MA in MASATHVSETS are also somewhat indistinct due to the flan flaw. Otherwise the striking detail is bold to sharp for all major design elements. An early die state for the variety with what later develops into a massive break at the top of the digits 16 in the date here only a delicate crack.The state of coinage in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the middle part of the 17th century was one of scarcity. What few coins were available were a mixed bag of heavily worn Spanish Colonial silver coins, British small denomination silver coins, the occasional Western European silver piece, on top of local wampum. Every day general commercial business was hampered because of the non-standardized monetary system. Silver coins were not forthcoming from Great Britain, so the colonys legislative body, the General Court, took matters into their own hands and passed the Mint Act in May of 1652 establishing a mint to coin silver under the leadership of John Hull. Gradually over the next several years, the minting process was perfected at Hulls mint from the basic NE coinage to the much more elaborate Pine Tree series. The Pine Tree coins were first struck in 1667 (though retaining the date of the original Mint Act, 1652) and would continue in production until the mints closure in 1682. Immensely popular, the coins circulated not only in New England, but have also been often found in archaeological contexts in the Mid-Atlantic region. <br /><br />The Large Planchet shillings are among the most popular of the Pine Tree coins in part due to the ample real estate afforded by the large thin planchet and the overall decent quality of striking. While not the first of the issues to be struck, the Noe-1 shilling is widely considered the "poster example" of the entire series, as Q. David Bowers notes in his <em>Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em>. Planchet manufacture at this stage was still best described as rustic: hand cutting from sheets of silver using heavy shears. The inconsistency in planchet shape and size plus the occasional flaw made the issue prone to clipping, so in 1675 the Large Planchet gave way to a smaller and thicker module that would be used until 1682. One of the most evident diagnostic mark for the Noe-1 are the two pellets flanking the base of the tree trunk, a signature mark that is visible on most specimens. Because of their extended time in circulation, the Noe-1 shilling is often found in very low grade with planchet defects, weak strikes, and even evidence of burial. Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. certainly enjoyed the issue, owning two of them, to include the present piece. In that sale, we (Bowers and Merena) described the coin as from an earlier die state, "with reverse breaks less well developed, most evident at the top of 1 in 1652 (the breaks to the left are not yet present, and what later becomes a massive break connecting to the 6 is here a delicate crack)." One of the classics of colonial numismatics and combined with one of the most illustrious of pedigrees, this will be a certain showpiece in any advanced cabinet of early American coins.,,PCGS# 45369. NGC ID: 2ARV.,,From our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, May 1996, lot 8.
