1817 James Monroe Indian Peace Medal. Second Size. Julian IP-9, Prucha-41. Silver. Extremely Fine.62.9 mm. 1454.6 grains. Neatly pierced for suspension at 12:00, as issued. Lovely medium gray silver with soft blue and gold accents on both sides. Slightly deeper toning in the recesses, close to the rims and outlining the devices serves to accentuate the sharp design features. The surfaces exhibit many tiny marks but only a couple of moderate size are easily noticed without magnification. This is undoubtedly an awarded medal, and yet it remains remarkably sharp for a piece with such history. A small “eraser” mark is noted in the right obverse field, the result of someone having tried to minimize a faint “1.25” scratched into the field—someone who didn’t appreciate how such markings add character to these particular medallic artifacts. According to original Mint records. there were 100 second-size Monroe medals struck, but only 12 distributed by the time the Office of Indian Trade (the physical keeper of the medals) closed. All 88 remaining were transferred back to the War Department. This does not mean, however, that those 88 were never distributed, though undoubtedly some remained unused and were melted, as frequently occurred when administrations changed. We are aware of 14 distinct specimens, with one of these not yet confirmed by photographic evidence. Five of these, including the unconfirmed one, are in institutional collections. This is a rather handsome medal overall, and quite a bit sharper than that we sold in the Larry Ness Collection in November 2020. While this one had been called “Very Fine” in the Ford sale, those grade assignments were of an old standard long used for medals that is becoming increasingly obsolete in the era of third-party grading. As such, we have endeavored to more accurately reflect the overall sharpness and appearance for a modern audience.Ex Art Kagin to John J. Ford, Jr. via Harry Forman, March 1962; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XVI, October 2006, lot 118.
