Rare 1652 New England threepence expected to fetch over $1 million at auction

There are currently only three known coins of its kind, but one was stolen from a Yale collection and has not been seen since.

A rare colonial coin is up for sale from a coin dealer in Boston.

The 1652 New England threepence is expected to fetch a price tag well over a million dollars. There are currently only three known coins of its kind, but one was stolen from a Yale collection, and has not been seen since.

"This is the most pristine as it can get. The other example at the Massachusetts Historical Society has a hole through it," said Stanley Chu, Store Manager at Stack's Bowers Galleries.

Stack's Bowers will have this on auction in November. It's the only one available to the public. They got the coin from a shop in the Netherlands, but the coin is deeply rooted in Massachusetts.

Stamped at Hull Mint in 1652

It was stamped at Hull Mint in 1652. The location is now the site of the Macy's near Downtown Crossing. We will likely never know its original owner, but Chu says sources believe the coin was once in the possession of the Quincy family.

"Abigail Adams and her husband, the second President John Adams, could have held this coin at one point," explains Chu.

On the coin there are two distinct features engraved or embossed into it.

"This 'N-E' is symbolizing New England, and on the reverse is the roman numeral three which stands for threepence," said Chu.

The Stack's Bowers Gallery at the edge of Faneuil Hall is no stranger to rare New England coins or bills. They have a note engraved by Paul Revere, but the 1652 threepence is by far the most expensive.

Somehow, the threepence has stayed in immaculate condition for hundreds of years. Chu speculates that someone may have understood its potential value and kept it in a cupboard or wooden container.