1862 Abraham Lincoln Indian Peace Medal. Silver. First Size. Second Reverse. Julian IP-38, Prucha-51. Choice Extremely Fine. 75.8 mm. 2630.0 grains. Pierced for suspension as typical, with a plain silver loop that is likely the original one, as issued. A very sharp medal with generous prooflike reflectivity remaining in the fields and excellent definition of nearly every detail. Only the highest areas of the motifs show any softening from use. This is best seen at Lincolns hair and on the face at the lower reverse. The rims are high and sharp with just a few tiny nicks, and undoubtedly protected other areas of the design from various light impacts. Mostly light silver gray with faint golden brown and blue toning through the obverse fields and in close outlines around other design elements. What appear to be shallow planchet flaws or areas of gentle pitting are noted in the lower left obverse field and central reverse. They have little impact on the overall quality and appearance, and arguably none at all on the desirability of this beautiful Lincoln medal-one of the most desired of the series. Frequently, if a collector wants to own a single Indian Peace medal as an example of the series, it is a first-size Lincoln that is most desired.The large-size Lincoln medals should exist with two different reverse dies. The original one cut for the Buchanan medals is reported to have been used to strike eight large-size Lincolns before it failed and needed to be replaced, either very late in 1862 or in early 1863. We have no records of any of those original eight surviving.As to the present medal, this is only the third time this piece has been offered for sale in nearly seven decades. We had the pleasure of cataloging it a decade ago, but before that it was sold by New Netherlands Coin Company privately in the early 1950s. John Ford narrowly missed buying it, though it would seem that no harm was done as he would eventually own seven of these.After a small hiatus, the actual striking of the silver Peace medals was returned to the Mint for this issue, though the die preparation was still done by Salathiel Ellis beyond the Mints walls, with the exception of the necessary replacement reverse as noted above. Mint records indicate that 100 of each size were ordered and there is no commentary by Prucha or Julian to suggest any were returned unused. We are aware of 35 different silver Lincoln medals in this size, however, the number of issued originals is smaller. Three of those seen by us are unpierced, so they were clearly never issued. In addition to two of the unpierced ones for which we have weights, six other medals are of unusually high weight, and those are thus suspect as probable restrikes. Twelve of the medals are in museum hands. This one is of proper weight and has a bit of the handling one would expect from an issued medal. It is a superb piece for that aforementioned medal collector who would like one example, for a Peace medal specialist, or a collector of Lincolniana. No large-size Lincoln in silver ever goes wanting for attention. Ex New Netherlands Coin Company, in 1952 or 1953, directly from Charles Wormser; unnamed intermediary; Stack’s, May 2009, lot 1244. (It was related in our May 2009 sale that John J. Ford, Jr. was in the offices at New Netherlands when this piece was sold by Wormser and that Ford tried to trade the buyer for it on the spot).
