 1652 Good Samaritan Shilling. Crosby p.68, fig.22; exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibition. Essentially as made. 73.5 gns. 26.1 mm. Reverse die aligned at 275 degrees. Deep silver gray color on both sides. Obverse well centered, soft at top and right; reverse off center to the upper right, soft at top due to advanced die failure across the top quarter. Undoubtedly unique given the state of the reverse and the fact that no other original (i.e., not a Wyatt copy) has ever been reliably reported or even rumored. The obverse type is enough to class the piece as a fantasy rather than a forgery. Newman's lengthy monograph, The Secret of the Good Samaritan Shilling (ANS, 1959), describes the history of the type and on pp. 38-42 particularly goes into the reasons why it cannot have been a genuine Colony of the Massachusetts Bay issue.
Ex Charles Ira Bushnell Collection (S.H. & H. Chapman, June 20, 1882, lot 145), Lorin G. Parmelee Collection (New York Stamp & Coin Company, June 25, 1890, lot 326), Hillyer Ryder, F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
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