Hey guys, need help with 1652 3 Pence!

pcgs69

A buddy of mine owns this 1652 3 Pence. He told me it is a NOE-28. A Heritage archives search reveals 7 coins that come up as "NOE-28". They are all pretty beat up, so in terms of gross details, this one actually appears to be one of the higher grades. Can this be confirmed this is a NOE-28? Also, how it compares detail-wise to the other examples? Also, the "M" looks to be actually be a "W". Does that make sense? Thanks for any input you may have. I'm not familiar with these coins, so let me know if I need to ask my buddy any questions.

LanceNewmanOCC

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i'm not well-versed in colonial counterfeits but the corrosion doesn't look right to me as i am under the impression these are silver-ish coins

the area northeast of the L in England look like new silver-ish surface though

i think unless some expert confirms the authenticity from your images, you/he should have this professionally authenticated by you know who - that is unless someone on this forum can say 100% it is not authentic, then save the fees
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magikbilly

The surfaces also looked funny to me - but not my area. It struck me as fake at first glance but again, not my area.

Eric

pcgs69

It is a metal detector find, which I believe explains the rough surfaces.

CoinRaritiesOnline

It appears to match the details of a genuine 1652 Oak Tree 3p, including the various die breaks one would expect to find a real coin but almost certain to be absent on a copy. So, if it is a copy, it is good one. Still, without seeing it, weighing it and all that good stuff I guess I can't definitive.

As for condition, it is considerably sharper than the two specimens in the Ford sale in October 2005 which can still be found in the Stack's old archives, though of course with this sort of corrosion it is not going to be on anyone's cc list.

keyman64

Neat but it should be soaked in acetone for a day or so I think?

lordmarcovan

I don't think acetone would do much.

The corrosion looks consistent with a dug piece, and it looks OK to me (with the obvious caveat that I know very little about these).

That being said, a clever counterfeiter might know how to fake the corrosion to give it that little extra aura of antiquity.

But I don't know. Don't really think that's the case here. It looks fine to me, as mentioned.

Edit to add- considering the kind of stuff I've known YOU to dig dug, pcgs69, I'm not surprised that someone you know might have dug something like that.

(Didn't notice you were the author of this thread at first.)

ricko

I am not an expert, but reviewing that coin and comparing it to pictures, it appears to be authentic.... EAC guys should chime in shortly.... Cheers, RickO

pcgs69

<< <i>I don't think acetone would do much.

The corrosion looks consistent with a dug piece, and it looks OK to me (with the obvious caveat that I know very little about these).

That being said, a clever counterfeiter might know how to fake the corrosion to give it that little extra aura of antiquity.

But I don't know. Don't really think that's the case here. It looks fine to me, as mentioned.

Edit to add- considering the kind of stuff I've known YOU to dig dug, pcgs69, I'm not surprised that someone you know might have dug something like that.

(Didn't notice you were the author of this thread at first.) >>



Thanks LordM! I have gone detecting with this person and have no doubt he found it with his detector. The odd thing is the M looks like a W. Wonder if its something with the dies or if it looks odd due to being buried.

BillJones

The piece matches up pretty well with the Oak Tree three pence, Noe 28, except for the pellets that are below the tree. The piece in the Bowers book shows one pellet in the center with seven surrounding it. I can see all or parts of six pellets on this with a blank space for the seventh one. This may be a result of the fact that the piece was stuck off-center which changed the metal flow. I think that the piece is probably genuine, but further analysis beyond looking at a photograph is necessary.

At any rate I would be very careful when it comes to messing with this piece to improve its appearance. Old silver coins that have been in the ground like this for a long period of time can become very fragile. I heard a story about a hoard of Massachusetts silver coinage that was discovered buried in the ground that had corroded. Some of the coins fell apart when they were handed. The corrosion had weakened the bonds between the molecules that held the metal together. Soaking this piece in acetone probably will not help, but could do some harm.