1652 Threepence Willow Tree

Coin Details

Description

The Willow Tree threepence is the smallest denomination and arguably the rarest type within the Massachusetts Bay Colony Willow Tree series, struck circa 1653 to 1660. Produced at the Hull Mint in Boston by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, this diminutive silver coin represents one of the most challenging goals in colonial American numismatics. The obverse depicts the crude, hand-engraved willow tree motif encircled by MASATHVSETS IN, while the reverse displays the Roman numeral III (three pence) within an inner circle surrounded by NEW ENGLAND AN DOM 1652. At roughly 15 to 17 millimeters in diameter, the threepence is the smallest of the Willow Tree denominations, and its tiny planchet left little room for the die engraver's work. Legends are frequently partial or illegible on surviving examples. Only a handful of genuine Willow Tree threepences are known to exist. The combination of extreme rarity, small size, and crude manufacture makes authentication particularly challenging, and the type has attracted skilled counterfeit production over the centuries. The target weight was 18 grains (1.17 grams) of sterling silver, though as with all Massachusetts colonial silver, actual weights vary owing to the hand-cut planchet preparation process. The threepence denomination played an important practical role in colonial commerce, where small-value transactions required fractional coinage. English threepences and other small silver coins were perpetually scarce in the colonies, providing part of the economic justification for the Massachusetts Bay Colony's decision to establish its own mint in 1652. Despite their utilitarian purpose, surviving Willow Tree threepences are today among the most prized and valuable pieces in the entire spectrum of American coinage.

Rarity Notes

Exceedingly rare. Only a handful of genuine examples are known. One of the rarest types in all colonial American numismatics.

Cross References

Noe 1; Salmon; Whitman 140-150; Crosby