 1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony. Willow Tree Sixpence. N.1-A, Cr.7. R-6+. 35.8 gns. Choice Very Fine. The Noe Census #10 Coin. The Noe Plate Coin. The obverse and reverse are both deep gray in color. The surfaces on each side seem rough, particularly on the front, with some light pitting visible. Nevertheless the tree is complete, some of its inner trunk detail is visible, and the root structure is mostly clear. Equally importantly the peripheral legend is essentially complete showing only minor jumbling at the upper left and all letters present in one form or another elsewhere. On the back the date is clear as is the denomination but the former appears to have been doubled at the left and some of the peripheral letters in the legend are a little jumbled. A close comparison of the dies of this piece and those seen on the specimen in the preceding lot show that they are identical, and are not, as Noe may have inadvertently implied, different. Rare: the cataloguer has traced 13 of these. There are certainly a few more out there. This one is in fairly ''typical'' condition for one of these (if that word can be applied to something as rare as this, that is). Noted by Noe as ''Described as unpublished and unique.'' The cataloguer notes that the collector's ticket accompanying the Noe 1-A Willow Sixpence offered above describes it as unique and suggests Noe may have attributed that comment to this coin. This piece published in The Numismatist February, 1927, page 87. The dies used to strike Noe Census Coins #1 and #10 are identical.
Ex E.J. French Collection (Sotheby's, December 20, 1926, lot 177), F.C.C. Boyd Collection.
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| Hammer Price: $190,000.00
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