Colonial period silver coin shatters auction record, sells for $2.5 million

An American silver coin from before the American Revolution that was recovered in an old cabinet in Amsterdam sold for $2.52 million at an auction, decimating the previous record.

The threepence coin was made in 1652 in Boston, mere weeks after the first mint was set up in the colony, according to a statement from Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the auction house behind the sale.

One side of a silver threepence coin sold for $2.5 million, featuring an NE brand standing for
New England. Stack's Bowers Galleries

The coin was originally found in the Netherlands in 2016, hidden in a pasteboard box that read “Silver token unknown/ From Quincy Family/B. Ma. Dec, 1798.” The owner had no idea that he had mistakenly recovered a piece of American history.

Following exhaustive testing and analysis to confirm its authenticity, the PCGS, an independent body that grades coins, determined that the coin was bonafide.

Threepence coins from the Boston Mint are regarded as a prized possession, since only one other has ever been recovered. The other surviving coin is part of a collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society. So, the discovery floored the coin-collecting community and saw many digging deep into their savings for a chance to own the coveted coin.

The coin is distinguished by its NE marking, standing for New England, on one side, and Roman numerals noting its value on the other. The threepence had three Roman numeral markings, hence the name.

Soon after the Boston Mint was established, the workers rebelled against the British authority to produce coins, marking the colony’s “growing sense of identity as separate from the mother country and its determination to regulate its own economy,” according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.

One side of a silver threepence coin features the Roman numeral for three, signifying how
much the coin was worth at the time. Stack's Bowers Galleries

The rebellion also meant that coins with the NE marking and Roman numerals were likely only produced for a few months, leaving very few in existence today.

In 1781, English collector Thomas Brand Hollis wrote to the then-American ambassador to the Netherlands, John Adams, requesting help tracking down one of the Boston Mint coins. Adams then tagged his wife, Abigail, for help since her great-grandfather had been stepbrothers with John Hull, the silversmith who minted the coins at the time.

The coin-collecting community has been spoiled with expensive new wares this year. In October, a rare misprinted U.S. coin was sold for $500,000.

In November, a family discovered that their gold coin collection was worth a staggering $2 million. They had originally suspected it couldn’t be sold for more than $100,000.