罕見的 17 世紀硬幣在阿姆斯特丹的舊櫃子中被發現八年後以破紀錄的 252 萬美元成交

1652 年新英格蘭三便士大小約 5 分鎳幣，在波士頓鑄造，三個多世紀後被發現

A rare 17th Century coin sold at auction for a record-breaking $2.52 million eight years after it was found in an old cabinet in Amsterdam.

一枚罕見的 17 世紀硬幣在阿姆斯特丹的舊櫃子中被發現八年後，在拍賣會上以破紀錄的 252 萬美元成交。

The 1652 New England threepence, which is about the size of a nickel, was struck in Boston and found over three centuries later, inside an old cabinet in Amsterdam around 2016, according to a news release Monday from Stack’s Bowers Galleries, which handled the auction. The owner had no idea how valuable the discovery was for several years until he decided to thoroughly research the small, worn disk with three Roman numerals on one side and “NE” on the other.

據負責拍賣的Stack's Bowers Galleries 週一發布的新聞稿稱，這枚1652 年新英格蘭三便士大小約為5 分鎳幣，是在波士頓鑄造的，三個多世紀後，於2016 年左右在阿姆斯特丹的一個舊櫃子裡被發現。多年來，主人並不知道這項發現有多有價值，直到他決定徹底研究這個磨損的小圓盤，一邊有三個羅馬數字，另一邊有「NE」。

Weighing just 1.1 grams, the value in silver was just $1.03 as of Monday’s market, but its rarity and rich history raised the price to a new record for any non-gold U.S. coin struck before the founding of the United States Mint, according to the gallery. The previous record was $646,250.

據美國造幣廠稱，白銀重量僅為1.1 克，截至週一市場的價值僅為1.03 美元，但其稀有性和豐富的歷史使白銀的價格創下了美國造幣廠成立之前鑄造的非金幣的新紀錄。之前的紀錄是 646,250 美元。

The threepence coin is thought to have come from the politically powerful Quincy family of Boston, which included the first lady of the United States, Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. Before serving as the second president of the United States, John Adams was also the fledgling country’s first ambassador to The Netherlands.

三便士硬幣被認為來自波士頓政治上有權勢的昆西家族，其中包括美國第一夫人、約翰·亞當斯總統的妻子阿比蓋爾·亞當斯。在擔任美國第二任總統之前，約翰·亞當斯也是這個新興國家的首任駐荷蘭大使。

New England threepence coins are exceedingly rare – the only other known example has been in the care of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 120 years.

新英格蘭三便士硬幣極為罕見——唯一已知的一枚硬幣已由馬薩諸塞州歷史學會保管了 120 年。

“This is one of the most important coins in all of American numismatics,” PCGS President Stephanie Sabin told Coin World. “Since before the Civil War, collectors have regarded the 1652 New England threepence as the single-rarest American colonial coin. And for more than a century it’s been known as entirely unobtainable for private collectors.

「這是美國錢幣學領域最重要的硬幣之一，」PCGS 總裁 Stephanie Sabin 告訴《硬幣世界》。 「自內戰之前以來，收藏家就將 1652 年新英格蘭三便士視為最稀有的美國殖民地硬幣。一個多世紀以來，它一直被認為是私人收藏家完全買不到的。

The bidding war for the coin, which reached a price three times higher than initial projections, was “an exhilarating ride,” according to auctioneer Ben Orooji, who called the 12-minute contest “a career highlight.”

拍賣師本·奧魯吉(Ben Orooji) 表示，這枚硬幣的競價戰是“一次令人興奮的旅程”，其價格比最初預計的高出三倍，他稱這場12 分鐘的比賽是“職業生涯的亮點」。