 1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony. Oak Tree Shilling. N.5, Cr.2-D, W.10a. R-2. 71.1 gns. Uncirculated. The Noe Plate Coin. The Wurtzbach Plate Coin. Outstanding quality, one of the three finest seen by the cataloguer, beaten only by the preceding and the Jackman sale coins for first place. Both the obverse and reverse are toned in a deep rich coin silver gray shade which is uniform on both sides. The tree is soft as expected but the peripheral legend is fairly sharp and just about complete. On the reverse the entire design is sharp save for the very top where the piece is soft due to the slight off centering of this strike. Obverse a little off center to the bottom, tops of some letters run off the flan revealing a pronounced die break visible at about 12:00. Perfectly centered on the reverse as expected.
Much later states of both dies, the obverse breaking at the top as described, the reverse quite soft there, breaking down from the tops of ND through the space between DA, bases of AN joined now, other lighter breaks visible in places in the peripheral legend. Described by Wurtzbach on his collector's ticket as ''Break much heavier. A beauty. Libbey-Wurtzbach Collections, a bargain.''
Ex A.S. Jenks Collection (Edward Cogan, April 12, 1877); Carl Wurtzbach, T. James Clarke, F.C.C. Boyd Collections.
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