1849 Zachary Taylor Indian Peace Medal. Silver. Third Size. Julian IP-29, Prucha-47. Very Choice Extremely Fine. 50.6 mm. 937.8 grains. Pierced for suspension as typical. Handsome deep silver gray with soft blue and rose mottling that comes alive in the prooflike fields under a light source. Slight wear in the suspension hole and tiny marks scattered over the surface are consistent with an awarded and gently worn medal. Somewhat heavier marks are seen above and below the portrait (one each), and a few are on Taylor’s face, but they have little effect on the overall eye appeal of this lovely and very rare medal.Unlike the silver Taylor medals of the first and second sizes, the third-size medals in silver are found struck by the first reverse (pre-1846) as well as the second reverse that was supposed to have been used for all the Taylor medals (as the earlier reverse was determined to be “no longer serviceable” by Mint Director Robert M. Patterson). Both reverses were used on bronze impressions as well. Detailed study of the medals in this collection, as well as notes on other appearances have led the writer to the conclusion that the silver Taylor medals struck with the new reverse are in fact the “originals” for Taylor, while those from the first reverse are impressions that were likely made later, for collectors. The obverse here, with the new reverse, appears to be in a slightly earlier die state than seen on the first-reverse bronze medal offered later in the sale. The same is true of the bronze medal below, paired with the second reverse. Further evidence of this conclusion may be seen in the weight distributions discussed below, and also in the suspension piercings. Those medals with the second reverse are consistently pierced in the identical positions. Those with the first reverse are erratically pierced, which would be highly unusual for the series, as piercings for the official medals was undertaken at the source, not by Indian agents or recipients.According to the Mint records, just 49 Zachary Taylor medals were struck in silver in this size. As Taylor died early in his term, few of his medals were distributed and most of them were returned to the Mint for melting. In the case of the small-size medals, the number returned was 32 pieces, leaving just 17 issued medals. We have no reason to believe that this is not one of those original medals.Carl Carlson noted just two known medals in silver, one of the rare cases where he identified the number of specimens in addition to the number of auction appearances which, in this case, was seven records. He noted that there was one paired with the 1809 reverse, and one with the “1840 reverse” which he must have intended to read “1849 reverse” as that was date on the first medals issued from it. The writer’s own recent study of individual specimens has revealed just six medals. Half are from the second reverse, and half are from the first reverse. Those from the first reverse are all from the late die state, with two chips in the rim at right. This is one of the cases where our data has weights for all examples. Those from the second reverse are uniformly slightly lighter in weight than those from the first reverse.Taking this data into consideration sheds important light on the true rarity of this medal from the original intended</em> dies for the official Taylor medal issue. Of the three original silver impressions we are aware of, one is in the ANS, one was sold in Ford XVIII (lot 128), and this is the third. It is the finest of the two in private hands. Ex J.D. Ferguson, June 1963; John J. Ford, Jr.; Stack’s sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XVIII, May 2007, lot 127; Stack’s, January 2009, lot 5117.
