Some recent auction results have highlighted the continued interest in early U.S. and Colonial issues, often showing that collectors value rarity and historical value over obvious aesthetic appeal.

Heritage offered a 1714 Gloucester shilling graded Fine 12 by Numismatic Guaranty Co. at its May 5 Platinum Session, calling it, “an issue collectors come to know through osmosis, generally after years of flipping through the pages of the annual Guide Book,” yet, “It is not an issue they are ever likely to have encountered ‘in the wild.’ ”

Just two are known and the origins are murky, commonly described as a pattern for a shilling that was ultimately not issued in any meaningful quantity. It has long been collected alongside Colonial issues.

While on this example “the planchet is crude and the tan-gold surfaces exhibit uneven strike definition,” roughly half of the design elements are clear. While it wouldn’t win a beauty contest, its status as a “Red Book” listing helped boost it to $90,000.

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