Owner Comments:
The Massachusetts Bay Colony Mint, run by its Mint Master John Hull and his partner Robert Sanderson, produced a large quantity of silver shillings between 1667 and 1682. These shillings were fashioned in two different styles: the large and the small planchet. Both exhibit a pine tree as the central obverse motif, based upon that featured on the Massachusetts Bay Colony's flag.
The large planchet version was struck at an earlier time, when coins were minted using a rocker press. This entailed squeezing thinner broader planchets between a pair of dies having curved oval faces. A byproduct of this process was an emission with a somewhat wavy planchet and elongated features.
The more plentiful small planchet shillings were produced between 1675 and 1682, using a screw press, and utilizing smaller thicker planchets. A more precise detailed impression resulted.
The coin pictured above is a 1652 Large Planchet Pine Tree Shilling graded AU 53 by PCGS. It has been assigned the Noe 4 designation. The piece is well centered on both sides, but the tops of some letters are missing due to the oblong shape of the planchet. The shilling is slightly underweight. The statutorily mandated weight was 72 grains, but this coin weighs in at 69.5 grains. The flan exhibits the expected slight waviness as a result of the use of rocker dies.
Among its distinguishing characteristics, the Noe 4 variety features two reversed "N"s. One such N appears in the word "IN" on the obverse; while the other is the first N in the word "ENGLAND" on the coin's reverse. There is a diagnostic die break to the left of the XII denomination and 1652 date on the reverse. The shilling also exhibits the classic medal-turn orientation, with both sides facing in the same direction.