1829 Andrew Jackson Indian Peace Medal. Silver. Third Size. Julian IP-16, Prucha-43. Choice Very Fine.

51.1 mm. 826.7 grains. Pierced for suspension as issued. Fairly uniform pale gray silver with some deeper patina through the protected areas around the legends and close to the rims. Mostly minor marks and smooth wear, though a blunt old scratch is seen in the right obverse field and both sides are lightly hairlined. On the reverse, a single small die chip is seen outside of the inner rim border just below 3:00, the identifier of the earlier of two die states observed for this issue in silver. This die was used to strike all of the medals of this size bearing dates 1809 through 1845, and a few bronzes with the even later Zachary Taylor obverse. Carl Carlson found just four auction records for a small-size Jackson in silver (and notably, only three in bronze). The Ford sales would add six more including the currently offered piece, and at least one that was a later restrike in silver. While this suggests that the medals might be common, it seems more likely that fortune simply landed an unusual number of the few survivors in a single collector's hands. The present writer has identified 17 specimens believed to be original strikes, though images have not been seen for one of them. Four of these are in institutional collections.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from F.C.C. Boyd; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XVIII, May 2007, lot 95.