Indian Peace Medals

1817 James Monroe Indian Peace Medal. First Size. First Reverse. Julian IP-8, Prucha-41. Bronze. About Uncirculated.

75.9 mm. 3397.0 grains. Sharp and pleasing, though faint reddish brown in the fields is a remnant from an old cleaning. Pleasing color has returned to a degree, however, with light olive brown accented by soft blue. Mildly prooflike in the reverse field. Struck from the original reverse die that was replaced in 1846; however the original reverses were pulled back into service even after the replacement dies had been used, so this does not indicate with any certainty the time period in which it was struck. There are small areas of spalling on the reverse, including beneath the fingers of the clasped hands, left of the cuffed wrist, and close to the handle tip of the tomahawk. Though not particularly rare in bronze, silver first-size Monroe medals are one of the rarest issues in the entire U.S. Peace medal series, so most collectors will have to purchase one of these to represent the type, even in the most advanced collections.

Estimate: $ 300