Photo: Stack’s Bowers Galleries
What's the oldest coin you've ever come across? Maybe it's a mid-century penny you picked up from the street, or an old quarter kept by your grandparents. Whatever the age, they are surely not beating one coin recently sold at an auction. A New England threepence from 1652 recently sold for $2.52 million, setting a world record per Stack’s Bowers Galleries, who oversaw the sale.
The small silver coin was struck in Boston in 1652, within weeks of the establishment of the first mint in what would become the United States. However, it was discovered quite far away from where it was created. In 2016, the coin was found in an old cabinet in Amsterdam. Its journey across the ocean is credited to the Quincy family of Boston, the powerful political family that First Lady Abigail Adams came from. Her husband, President John Adams, was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands in the 1770s and 1780s.
The coin is a worn-down disk featuring three Roman numerals on one side and “NE” on the other. The only other example of these coins, which have a hole, has been in possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 120 years. As such, no individual collector has had the opportunity to own an example—sparking excited reactions from coin collectors. Ultimately, the threepence sold for more than three times the in-house presale estimates. Auctioneer Ben Orooji, who directed the sale, described the bidding battle as “an exhilarating ride and a career highlight.”
The coin weighs only 1.1 grams and, based on today's market, its silver value is $1.03. However, its historical value is what makes it truly special. By selling for $2,520,000, the 1652 threepence broke the previous world record price of $646,250 for an American coin struck before the American Revolution by nearly $2 million, as well as setting a record for any non-gold U.S. coin struck before the founding of the United States Mint.
A New England threepence from 1652 recently sold for $2.52 million, setting a world record.
Photo: Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Source: Newly Discovered Massachusetts Silver Threepence From 1652 Brings $2.52 Million
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