Indian Peace Medals
1849 Zachary Taylor Indian Peace Medal. Bronze. Third Size. First Reverse. Julian IP-29, Prucha-47. MS-65 BN (NGC).
51 mm. Uniform deep mahogany bronze with a fine satin finish and soft, pleasing luster on both sides. There are a few tiny marks, some very faint hairlines and trivial patina spots noted under magnification, but none is distracting or worthy of specific mention. This is a very pleasing medal and very rare. As noted in the previous description, we have sold only three examples of the small-size Zachary Taylor medal in bronze in our auctions, going all the way back to the John J. Ford, Jr. sales. This is one of those three, and it is the only one struck from the first reverse. It is from the earlier die state of this reverse with one small chip at the rim, near 3:00. Patches of light spalling are in the upper reverse field, below PEACE. The second reverse medals, struck from the reverse cut in 1846 to replace the die used here, are undoubtedly the original official pieces. This is then a restrike in our opinion, but probably somewhat early and obviously a great rarity as are all Taylor medals.
Ex F.C.C. Boyd Estate; John J. Ford, Jr,; Stack’s sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XVIII, May 2007, lot 129; Stack’s Bowers Galleries, June 2014, lot 1001.
Estimate: $750