(1652) New England Sixpence

Coin Details

Description

Bearing only the stamped letters "NE" on the obverse and "VI" (six pence) on the reverse, the New England Sixpence is among the most historically significant and rarest American colonial coins. Authorized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652 and struck in Boston by mintmaster John Hull and partner Robert Sanderson from dies cut by Joseph Jenks of Lynn, Massachusetts, it represents one of the first silver coins produced in the English colonies. Fewer than ten genuine examples survive (Noe variety 1-A). Struck in sterling silver (.925) at a target weight of 36 grains (approximately 2.33 grams), the NE coinage was authorized by the Massachusetts General Court on May 27, 1652, responding to chronic shortage of reliable small-denomination silver. The stark simplicity — mere letter punches on plain planchets — was both feature and flaw: while allowing rapid production, it left coins vulnerable to counterfeiting and clipping, prompting the colony to adopt more elaborate Oak Tree and Pine Tree designs. The 1652 date was maintained on Massachusetts coinage for decades as a legal fiction to maintain the claim that coinage was authorized during the Commonwealth period. The NE Sixpence stands alongside the Shilling and Threepence as the earliest American silver coins.