1652 Massachusetts pine tree shilling, what's it worth?

Hi There: I just inherited a number of coins and am trying to figure out what they are worth. One in particular is a pine tree shilling. I have taken a picture of front and back. I know it is genuine as are a number of the other rare coins.
Any advise or direction would be greatly appreicated.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

We see a lot of counterfeits of these on the boards... this one does appear to be genuine. I would recommend having it graded and encapsulated by wither NGC or PCGS. That's where you should start.

 

There is a lot of fakes of these around. I would get that coin 3rd party graded. It will be deemed a potential fake by any buyer and would be worth getting authenticated before selling. I dont know exactly what the value is...but I think its worth a whole lot of cash monies!

 

Absolutely. There are many more fake Pine Tree Shillings than there are genuine examples.

I agree. When is the last time we saw a genuine Pine Tree Shilling here?

Get that thing to PCGS or NCG for authentication. And DO NOT CLEAN YOUR COIN.

 

This is the last one I remember

http://www.cointalk.com/t78013/

 

I've heard of these but have never seen one before. What is the value of something like this if it is considered genuine by NGC? This coin looks to be in VG-Fine condition to me.

 

At a glance it appears that it may be genuine, but I can't attribute it even with images of almost all of the known varieties in fromt of me, and that worries me. Specifically, I can't find any authentic varieties that have the XII connected, nor that have the Ds on the dated side of the coin completely without serifs. I also can't find any authentic varieties that have the 6 and 5 point like the 65 on this coin. There are a couple of very rare varieties that I can't find images of, but unfortunately I think this coin may be a fake. At an absolute minimum, you would need to get this coin authenticated and attributed.

 

You're just bragging.

 

So if it's it's genuine, what is a ballpark figure? I assume that is what the OP wanted to know.

 

I could see this selling for about $3K, it could very well go for around $5K. Looks about VF30.

 

I will take your advise and get it appraised at a local shop. I am in Denver, any recommendations?

 

If it's a fake it's a darn good one that's for sure... usually the fakes stand out like a sore thumb... but if it doesn't match up to known die pairings that means it's most likely no good.

 

If your considering selling the piece " Raw " , my advice is to consign it to " Stacks-Bowers " .

 

Be sure to get more then one opinion.

 

My recommendation is to not do so, or at least tell them it is not yet for sell or it will be a long afternoon. Make arrangements to send it to PCGS or NGC if you think it is worth the fee to so so, to settle your mind.

SWHuck had a very convincing argument, and seemingly the best reference material to go by, so I would assume he has the highest probable answer. I have found him very credible.

Jim
​

 

I agree. I think getting it slabbed is the best way to tell if it's genuine. Your local coin shop doesn't see these very often, so they'd need to consult reference materials probably anyway. It's possible they send off coins to NGC or such, so maybe you could ask them to send yours, but you could just send it yourself.

 

Unless your local shop specializes in colonials the chances are they probably won't have a clue about what the attribution is and their opinion of authenticity would also have to be taken with a grain of salt. This is a coin that really needs to be looked at by a specialist.

 

What is typically the fee to send it or get the option of a PCGS or NGC?

 

I completely agree. I looked at the known pairings over and over because this coin looks so good, but this one simply doesn't match. It's certainly not out of the question that it could be one of the two pairings I couldn't look at, but I don't have a reference handy that shows or describes what they look like.

It bears probably the closest resemblance to Noe-8.2, at least among the varieties I could find.
http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1121&lotNo=3539#Photo

It's not out of the question that it could be a contemporary counterfeit, as well.

 

To correborate what you guys have said: this coin does not correspond to any of the known die parings for Massachusetts Large planchet Pine Tree Shillings (or small planchet for that matter). The obverse has some ressemblance to Noe-8, but even then, there are some obvious discrepancies. The reverse does not convice me at all - it looks very crude compared to the real thing. Contemporary counterfeit is a possibility, (or a modern fake I am afraid).