Rare Piece of Money from 1600s Could Be Worth $300,000

A rare piece of metal money made in the 1600s in the New England area of the U.S. could be sold for $300,000.

The coin is to be sold at an auction¹ sale in London next month.

The silver coin was minted² in 1652 in Boston, Massachusetts. "To mint³" means to make, or strike, a coin out of metal. Coin experts consider it to be the best example of about 40 such coins known to still exist.

The business holding the sale is Morton and Eden Limited. It issued a statement on Wednesday. It said the coin was recently found in Britain inside a candy container that held hundreds of old coins.

James Morton is the coin specialist for the auctioneer -- the business holding the sale. He called the New England coin the "star of the collection."

"I could hardly believe my eyes when I realized that it was an excellent example of a New England shilling⁴, struck by John Hull⁵ in 1652 in Boston for use as money by early settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony," Morton said in a statement.

John Hull was responsible for producing North America's first silver coins. The Massachusetts General Court appointed Hull as Boston mintmaster in 1652. The mint was considered treasonous⁶ by King Charles II. It stopped operating in 1682, the auctioneer's statement said.

The recently discovered coin has a simple design. It has the letters NE, for New England, on one side. On the other side is the Roman number for 12. That was the number of pennies in a shilling.

Jim Bailey is a coin expert in Rhode Island. He called the shilling "a phenomenal discovery." Bailey added that the coin has great "eye appeal."

The coin belongs to Wentworth "Wenty" Beaumont. Beaumont's father found it in a container in his study at the family home in northern England.

Beaumont's ancestor, William Wentworth, was an early settler of New England. He is thought to have arrived in the Colonies⁷ in 1636. He likely received the coin when it was new. The Wentworths became a well-known family in New Hampshire.

The online sale includes several other early American coins. It is set to take place November 26.

Words in This Story

auction –n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most; –v. to hold a public sale at which things are sold to the person offering the most

mint –v. to make coins out of metal –n. a place where money, especially coins, are made

candy –n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

shilling –n. a British coin used before 1971 that was equal to 1/20th of a British pound

mintmaster –n. a person who supervises⁸ a mint

phenomenal –adj. very good or great; unusual in an impressive way

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 minted   

崭新的；新制作的；刚完成的

参考例句：

• a newly minted expression 刚出现的词语
• The silver which was mined there was minted into coins. 在那里开采的银子被用来铸成钱币。

3 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

4 shilling   

n.先令

参考例句：

• He handed each of them a shilling.他给了每人一个先令。
• I bet people will pay a shilling to see this.我想人们一定愿意花一先令来看它这样子。

5 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

6 treasonous   

adj.叛逆的，不忠的

参考例句：

• His treasonous brother stole upon him in his sleep. 那个起了歹心的弟弟就趁他睡着了偷偷走到他身边。 来自辞典例句
• His speech was a treasonous one. 他的言论是叛国的。 来自辞典例句

7 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句