1652 Shilling Oak Tree, "In" at Left MS(PCGS#45361)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1237

Grade

AU55

Price

7,200

Lot Description

Richly original and visually appealing, this is a lovely Choice AU example of both the type and Noe number. Both sides are dressed in warm mauve-gray patina with a hint of steel-olive engaging some of the peripheral design elements. The strike is offset to 3 o'clock on both sides, the tops of the letters at right beyond the flan, although this feature is not readily evident due to the overall softness at right peripheries. The tree is also a bit soft at right, but the rest of its features are sharp, as are all other design elements. Lustrous and frosty, direct lighting also calls forth faint antique gold and powder blue undertones that deliver further eye appeal. Impressively smooth in hand and free of troublesome marks, a short, thin planchet crack at 10 o'clock relative to the obverse is as made.<p>The Noe-1 Oak Tree shilling is a popular choice as a type coin: relatively common, even in high grades; typically complete in design and bold in strike; showcasing one of the more classically oaken design motifs; coined from dies that created an attractive and easily understood product; and historically significant as "apparently the earliest rocker press variety" in this series (per Christopher J. Salmon, 2010). While it is not unusual for a top caliber cabinet to include a high grade Noe-1 Oak, it is surely a hallmark of a world class early American collection to include one this nice. Worthy of a strong premium.