1652 6P Willow Tree VF20 认证号-42735, PCGS号15

Ron Guth

Willow Tree Sixpences are extremely rare, with slightly more than a dozen known.  The entire mintage is comprised of a single die variety, but each coin has its own individual appearance because of the way they were made.  To create each coin, the minters struck the planchets with the dies multiple times, as each strike was on a different plane and various portions of the design details were impressed with each strike.  As a result, the legends are usually jumbled and illegible, the tree looks like a bunch of squiggly lines, and the date and denomination are often mixed together.  The highest grade example (and the only Mint State example known) is the PCGS MS64 formerly of the John J,. Ford Collection.  However, the most natural appearing example, in my opinion, is the PCGS AU58 -- it is nicely centered, the tree is clear, the date and denomination are properly positioned, and the overall appearance is excellent.