1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Large Planchet. Noe-14, Salmon 14-X, W-790. Rarity-6. Without Pellets at Trunk. VF Details--Damage (PCGS).42.2 grains. A rare survivor of this contemporary counterfeit issue and surely one of the finest known. Toned in dove grey shades with scattered olive patina in areas. The tree is impressively sharp on the obverse, missing only the rightmost branches. A portion of the inner circle follows the lower left edge with just the tips of MASA above. This definition is echoed on the reverse, where only three-fourths of the date show but the denomination remains clear. Evidence of an old, shallow impact near the top of the tree has given a slight bend to the planchet, though this goes largely unnoticed. A minor flan flaw can be seen near 10 oclock on the reverse and the surfaces are otherwise smooth and glossed in-hand. <p><p><p>Like the Noe-13, the Noe-14 issue was purposely made to imitate a clipped Large Planchet type. Given the shape, size, weight, and workmanship, the two issues were almost certainly made by the same shop. Rarer than Noe-13 by a significant margin, Noe-14 was not present in Boyd-Ford, Partrick, MHS (1970), or Norweb, though all those collections included a Noe-13. We last offered this issue in our March 2015 sale of the Kendall Foundation Collection, where we featured two distinct examples. Both coins were graded Good Details--Excessively Clipped (PCGS) and weighed just slightly above 34 grains. The sharper of the two earned $1, 997 in lot 2394, while the more worn coin in lot 2395 brought $1, 527. The present example is substantially finer than both and about as pleasing as can be expected for the variety.From the Robert M. Martin Collection.
