1853 Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal. Silver. Medium Size. 63.51 mm. 1872.2 grains. Julian IP-33, Prucha-49. Very Fine.Neatly pierced for suspension just right of 12 oclock, as issued. Deep steel gray patina is fairly uniform throughout, though the highest points of the motifs are lighter silver gray. This is clearly an example that was presented and worn by a Native American. The small suspension hole is worn slightly into the rim, and the surfaces exhibit many tiny nicks and marks consistent with such use. A few tiny rim nicks are also noted, but there is none of the larger marks often seen so, aesthetically, this is pretty much an ideal specimen for a worn Peace Medal. Evenly worn with some faint old hairlines visible under the patina, which is also typical of such awarded medals. As noted above, the second size Pierce medals are rarer than the large size variant. The landmark John J. Ford Collection included two examples, a pleasing Very Fine and a lower grade medal called Very Good. Remarkably, this is probably the first time since that Ford sale that two examples of this medal have appeared in the same sale. There were 150 examples struck in this size, and approximately 128 pieces distributed, so most of those distributed were either lost or remain in the indigenous communities. Interestingly, one of the recent medals we handled came from the original family along with the story that it was held so long because it was believed that some harm would befall the family if their prized medal was ever sold. This illustrates the degree to which these medals were prized by recipients. It is quite remarkable that even in light of the history that has transpired between the presentations of these medals and the present day, there are still cases where the reverence in which they were held has passed down through the families just as the medals themselves have.