1850 (Post-1861) Millard Fillmore Indian Peace Medal. First Size. Bronze. 76 mm. Julian IP-30. MS-64 BN (NGC).Lovely autumn-brown patina blankets both sides of this satiny and boldly impressed example. Faint carbon spots and a few minuscule marks are all that seem to preclude an even higher numeric grade. The dies for the Millard Fillmore Indian Peace medals were accomplished by Salathiel Ellis and Joseph Willson, and were the first in this series produced outside of the Mint. Likewise, they represent a departure from the original styling that had been generally in use since the medals of Jefferson. The new reverse design represented less of a theme of "friendship" and more one of assimilation expected of the Native Americans into the society brought by the settlers. The settler stands facing the indigenous man, pointing upward to the three words LABOR VIRTUE HONOR, seeming to suggest that the authors of the design did not see native cultures possessing these values.
