1817 James Monroe Indian Peace Medal. Silver. Second Size. Julian IP-9, Prucha-41. Fine. 63.1 mm. 1533.5 grains. Pierced for suspension, as originally issued. Primarily light silver gray on both sides, while thin, but deep, golden brown and blue-green outlines around the devices, inside the rim and through the recesses nicely accentuate the design features. Two relatively long, intermittent cuts across the obverse are unavoidable and join a couple of additional tiny rim cuts as the only notable damage. On the reverse, a series of hatch marks were deliberately added between the handles of the tomahawk and pipe. While "damage" in the strictest numismatic sense, they must be understood differently on a medal like this as some type of adornment, perhaps by the original recipient, but certainly dating to the first century of this medals existence as no owner since Hunter would have added such. Despite the noted marks (which speak to the intended non-collector use and yet make this readily identifiable as the former Hunter Cabinet example), this is a fairly satisfying medal.<p>Carl Carlson accounted for 18 auction records of silver second-size Monroes, without attempting to count individual specimens. In his cataloging of three examples in the extensive John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Michael Hodder noted that he was aware of nearly a dozen individual medals. The present writers recent survey work has accounted for 14 examples, with only one of them remaining unconfirmed by photographic evidence to date. Of these, five are in institutional collections. While the second-size Monroe is the most plentiful of this presidents medals, opportunities to acquire one are still quite few and far between and history illustrates that years can pass between offerings.<p>The original Mint records report that 100 of these were struck, but only 12 had been distributed by the time the Office of Indian Trade (the keeper of the medals) was closed in 1822. It was reported that the 88 remaining medals were transferred to the War Department at that time, and some have taken that to mean that those were melted. This is impossible given the number of medals known today, so a few more were likely distributed slowly, as needed, and some might well have been saved by authorities as personal keepsakes. From the Ronald A. Slovick Family Collection. Earlier ex Henry Chapman, 1909, to William H. Hunter; S.H. Chapmans sale of the W.H. Hunter Collection, December 1920, lot 98 ("deep dent across ear and left field"); Arnie Chernoff, November 1981.
