1853 Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal. Copper, Bronzed. First Size. Julian IP-32, var. Prucha-Unlisted. MS-66 BN (NGC). 76.5 mm. 3750.1 grains. A superb specimen of this very rare muling combining the original obverse for the issued Pierce medals with the second Peace and Friendship reverse, cut in 1846. Beautiful light mahogany patina with faint flecks of orange. Bold satin luster and really nice eye appeal. The obverse is essentially free of any marks save for a couple of microscopic spots, while the reverse has a slightly larger spot off the left index finger point, a small rim bump at the E of FRIENDSHIP and a couple of small marks in the upper field. This is a very rare muling of which we have only seen one other in our sales, that we recall. This one was in our Ford Sale, Part XVIII, and then in our January 2011 sale where the present owner bought it. There was an example in the 1986 David W. Dreyfuss Collection sale, and one in Presidential Coin and Antique’s sale #38 (May 1985). The latter was referenced as the sole auction appearance Carl Carlson was aware of in 1986. In the Presidential sale, Joe Levine commented that he was aware of only one other auction appearance, in the Kessler-Spangenberger sale in 1981. Levine was caught in the trap set by an overly overlapped auction plate, with most of the reverse covered. In fact, that was a different muling, the Pierce obverse paired with the pre-1846 Peace and Friendship reverse. While we have not exhaustively studied all sources for another example, it is worth mentioning a second time that Carlson and Levine knew of only the PCAC auction example. This could be the same one, or that one could be the Dreyfuss piece, but this one is not the Dreyfuss medal. There was no provenance recorded in the Ford notes, and the PCAC plate is of such low quality (an unfortunate standard of the time) that one can’t be certain it’s a different medal. Whatever the case, it is a great rarity, with perhaps only two or three known. Ex John J. Ford, Jr., Stack’s sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XVIII, lot 142; Stack’s, January 2011, lot 6233.
