British Indian Peace Medals

Outstanding Middle-Size 1814 George III Medal

1814 George III Indian Peace Medal. Medium Size. Adams-13.1. (Obverse 1, Reverse A). Silver. About Uncirculated.

60.0 mm. 1180.8 grains. Original suspension hanger. Generously prooflike surfaces on both sides with only a few small marks and a trace of gentle wear on the high points. Considerable light silver remains throughout, though deeper blue and gray heavily accent the recesses, particularly on the obverse. Overall this is an incredibly attractive medal that really requires no apologies. What appears to be a tiny obverse rim bump is actually a small rim break (in the die) and is as made. Beautifully struck with superb expression of the designs on both sides. The digit 4 in the date shows strong evidence of an earlier placement too far to the left. Just 17 examples of the dated medium-size medal were listed in the John W. Adams Census, published in 1999. It is unclear if this one was listed among them, but considering the source, in 2008, we suspect that this would be an addition. What has been thought as likely the finest known example (Adams’ own specimen) was sold in our November 2020 sale of the Ness Collection. This one was Ness’ duplicate and almost as nice as the first one we sold. There is an old black ribbon attached. The 1814-dated medals of this size are quite a bit rarer than the large ones, with just over twice as many large ones listed in the Adams Census.

From the Larry Ness Collection. Earlier ex John Sanderson du Mont; Little John's Auction Service sale of January 2008, lot 181.

Estimate: $ 7000