 1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony. Pine Tree Shilling. Large Planchet. Backwards N. N.10, Cr.1a-C, W.37. R-3. 73.3 gns. Uncirculated. The Wurtzbach Plate Coin. Wonderful quality for one of these, far nicer than Hain's better piece, Norweb's Choice EF, and the extremely nice piece in NN's 60th sale (ex Clarke-Boyd duplicates). Lovely rich gray and iridescent blue and gold toning can be seen on both sides. There are traces of original mint frost in some of the protected areas particularly on the back. The S-shaped bend in the planchet causes the surfaces to have a somewhat shimmering appearance. The tree is sharp and bold everywhere save for the very topmost branches (the deepest part of the die) and the tops of the split trunk which typically are found soft. The peripheral legend around is a little tight at the bottom and elongated at the top but all of the letters are essentially on flan and are fully legible. Most of the outer beaded border of dots can be seen on this piece.
On the reverse the denomination and date are clear and the outer legend is sharp most everywhere and is fully on flan save for the upper left. Both sides were struck a little off center, the obverse to the right and reverse to the left, with the tops of the letters on either side running off the flan at those positions. Described by Carl Wurtzbach on his collector's ticket as ''nc. Any Massachusetts Silver in Unc. Condition is much rarer than Crosby's rating. Some being unique.''
Ex Charles E. Clapp, Carl Wurtzbach, T. James Clarke, F.C.C. Boyd Collections.
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