1805 Eccleston Medal. By Thomas Webb, for Daniel Eccleston. Musante GW-88, Baker-85. Bronze. Specimen Unc Details--Corrosion Removed (PCGS). 75.6 mm. A handsome and desirable example of this perennially popular type in the Washington medallic series. Richly toned surfaces exhibit intermingled autumn-brown highlights to dominant olive-copper patina. The design elements are sharply rendered with most, in fact, displaying full detail. Some scattered casting pits are visible, as usual, and are more prevalent on the reverse. A later state of the dies with a fairly well developed crack in the central medallion on the reverse, passing most prominently through the letters, S OURS, but crossing the borders and extending into the inner two lines of the legend both to the upper right and lower right of the Native American. A prominent lump has formed in this break at the border of the inner medallion just right of the base of the bow. There are no post-production marks of note, and the repair work noted on the PCGS holder was skillfully done and has in no way diminished the medals eye appeal.<p>The intended message of the reverse design coupled with the sentiments toward Washington has been a matter of debate for a long time. Though it is frequently analyzed as sympathetic to the cause of the Native peoples who were becoming increasingly displaced, one must take care to not make judgements on early 19th century motifs through the lens of the present. The general is cuirassed in grand form on the obverse, the unmistakable image of a victor. When coupled with the sentiment of the central reverse, it is worth remembering that Washington himself wrote to the Cherokee to recommend that they essentially learn to live as whites did, for their own prosperity. In 1805, the institution of slavery was legal in the United States and Great Britain, and the British Empire would continue to exploit as many territories and indigenous peoples as possible around the world for decades to come. Native American policy in the United States was no better. This said, the thoughts of any individual might differ vastly from societal norms en vogue at any given time, and the fact that the Native American, the most profound loser of the American Revolution, would be acknowledged at all is probably highly significant. Unfortunately, Eccleston gave no clues in his own presentation letter that he sent to Thomas Jefferson with examples of the medal. In it he simply referred to the entire reverse as bearing "an American Indian with his bow and arrow, and an appropriate legend."
