1652 threepence 0

[Larsjan]

I have already posted this coin on another forum where I get good and nice reactions but I also want to place it here to get as many opinions and insights as possible.

A few years ago I bought an antique 18th century coin cabinet that still contained about 60 coins in their original antique coin holders.
One of these coins is described on the coin holder as 'unknown' and recently I came across the coins of New England and recognized the stamps immediately.
Because of this I did some research on this coin.
I find the NE stamp to correspond almost exactly to the stamp known on existing sixpence coins from this time.
It looks like my coin has been double struck on the NE side, which may cause some deviation.
The coin holder states that this coin entered the collection in 1798.
In addition, today I received the results of the XRF analysis of both sides of the coin.
The results show that the silver contains traces of gold (au) and lead (pb) which correspond to early American silver.
Hereby I place some pictures of my findings and of the coin.
I would like to hear from you what you think about the authenticity of this copy.

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum.

Since there is only one known example of the Massachusetts NE threepence, and all NE coins have been counterfeited extensively, I would assume it is fake until proven otherwise. If it is real, submitting it to a recognized authentication service, like NGC, would certainly be worth the expense. I doubt it would sell otherwise.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Just Bob

[Kirt]

I'll take the more optimistic route on this. I'll take your word on your research - this is not a period I collect. You have a lot of evidence stacking up that supports, but doesn't prove, authenticity.

- XRF analysis with a probable match to colonial American silver

- NE stamp within the variability shown on the single threepence and the contemporaneous sixpence

- Coin holder that certainly appears of the age with the right combination of dates, family names, and geography (side note: you don't mention where you acquired the cabinet or where it was from; the use of the word "token" may be important, particularly if the cabinet was English or European)

However, I agree with @Just Bob - if you ever want to sell it, you'll need to have it authenticated. I would go a different route were it mine; I'd reach out to the MA Historical Society directly. They have an existing threepence in their collection and, if your coin is authentic, would likely be extremely interested in it. With a coin this (potentially) rare, my advice is to let historians take the first swing at it. It will take much longer, but you'll likely get a wealth of information and some clear indication as to authenticity before you spend money to have it commercially graded.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Kirt

[Larsjan]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this coin.

A few years ago I bought the coin cabinet with the coins here in the Netherlands.
I am still checking if I can find the data so that I can contact them.
I get a lot of positive reaction about this coin but there are also people who think it is a very early counterfeit.
However, in my opinion, this is not in line with the time that he came into the collection, according to the coin holder.

- If the coinholder is from that time as stated and it were a forgery before 1800, the forger would have needed a real one as an example, after all, there were no exact examples or images to be found in any other way than that.
- In my opinion it was not at all interesting to counterfeit such a coin at the time and if it were done it would probably not be made in sterling silver like the original. because I don't think such a coin had such a high collector value at the time.
- If it were a counterfeit, you would expect that more of these copies would be known.
- Compared to the stamps of other sixpence coins and the one existing threepence coin, my stamp corresponds to the 100th millimeter in many points.
It seems to me that at the time it was not possible to recreate something so accurately, even with a real coin as an example. Then you might have to cast it, but this is clearly not the case with this coin.

Thanks for the tip, I'm definitely going to contact MA Historical Society.