1652 Willow Tree Shilling. Noe 1-A, Salmon 1-A, W-150. Rarity-6+. VF Details--Damage (PCGS). 71.4 grains. An exciting offering for advanced specialists in Massachusetts Bay Colony silver coinage. This Willow Tree shilling is rough in certain respects, which is not surprising given its backstory (see below), but it is also impressive due to the overall sharpness of detail evident on both sides. Regarding the former, the planchet is wavy with two noticeable bends, the reverse also with several significant scrapes. That side of the coin is also curiously bright, which suggests a cleaning to remove steely-gray roughness that remains over much of the obverse. The latter side is quite smooth in hand, however, and both retain most design elements that include, among other features, a bold tree and denomination and partially legible date.<p>A rare variety, the Noe 1-A Willow Tree shilling was missing from the celebrated Norweb Collection, among others. The present example has the added appeal of having been found by metal detectorist Jerry Bates in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in March of 2021. Interestingly, this is the second ground find Willow Tree shilling that we have brought to auction in the last decade, both of which examples were discovered in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The first was a Noe 3-D coin found in a vegetable patch in downtown Plymouth in the summer of 2010 that realized an impressive $37,375 as lot 7154 in our August 2011 Chicago ANA Auction. This Noe 1-A is an equally fascinating piece, steeped in both history and rarity, and is sure to garner considerable interest among astute collectors. Found by metal detectorist Jerry Bates in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, March 2021.
