Indian Peace Medals
1837 Martin Van Buren Indian Peace Medal. Silver. Second Size. Julian IP-18, Prucha-44. Very Fine.
62.4 mm. 1474.1 grains. Pierced for suspension as typical, but later crudely and incompletely plugged. Relatively deep slate toning over both sides with soft accents of rose and blue when turned in the light. Some lighter areas are seen on the higher points of the motifs. As noted in our last offering of this medal, in 2016, the degree of wear on this piece is essentially ideal, with a scattering of tiny marks, a couple of short scratches and one small dent in the right field, but none of these could be considered severe or even bothersome. In fact, much of what is noted in terms of surface imperfections has been largely smoothed out by wear. The suspension piercing shows obvious wear and it might be that the plug is the remnant of a later hanger addition that is now lost. Whatever the case, the filling is clearly ancient and only adds to the undoubtedly interesting story this medal will likely keep secret forever. Though 112 of the second-size Van Buren medals are believed to have been struck (the highest mintage of the three sizes by just three pieces), this size has proven the rarest of the three in the writer’s survey of specimens by a small margin. Carl Carlson found 12 auction appearances of this size in silver, yet the Ford Collection remarkably yielded only a single example. When Ford’s was cataloged, Michael Hodder commented that he knew of only four specimens. We are aware of nine specimens, though we have not seen an image of one of them, so it is a tentative entry. Of the nine, four are in institutional collections which leaves very few for collectors. This example was in a museum until our March 2016 sale, and has thus slightly improved the chances for collectors to capture one.
Ex John Charles Woodbury (1859-1937); Collections of the Strong, Rochester, New York, sold to benefit the museum’s collections fund; Stack’s Bowers Galleries, March 2016, lot 12011.
Estimate: $12000