1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Small Planchet. Noe-18, Salmon 4-B, W-845. Rarity-7. VF Details--Excessively Clipped (PCGS).62.7 grains. A desirable example toned in pleasing slate-grey shades. Heavily clipped to nearly 10 grains short of the statutory weight of 72 grains. Even so, the flan remains nicely rounded and the surfaces smooth. Much of the obverse legends fall of the edge, while those on the reverse are mostly full. The central elements are uniformly bold and framed by sharp inner circles on each side. The die state typically seen with a moderate break through the right tree branches. The Noe-18 is an incredibly challenging variety for specialists and was missing from several important collections of Massachusetts Silver including NN48, NN59, NN60, Stearns, MHS (1970), Garrett, Roper, Picker, and Oechsner, for starters.<p><p><p><p>We are able to trace this piece back 110 years to Henry Chapmans sale of the Captain Andrew Zabriskie Collection in June 1909. Zabriskie was a past president of the American Numismatic Society and his collection featured several incredible rarities including a 1787 Brasher Doubloon. Offered in lot 7, the present piece sold for $7 to Albert Fairchild Holden and was passed down to his daughter Emery May. It would eventually become part of the legendary Norweb Collection and was sold in our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of October 1987. It was next featured in the Patrick Collection alongside the higher grade Boyd-Ford coin, which was sold in January 2015.<p><p><p>From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Ex Henry Chapmans sale of the Andrew C. Zabriskie Collection, June 1909, lot 17; Albert Fairchild Holden; Emery May Norweb; our (Bowers and Merenas sale of the Norweb Collection, Part I, October 1987, lot 1208; Heritages sale of the Donald Groves Partrick Collection, January 2015, lot 5590.
