An Interesting Comparison Between a 19th Century Medal and a Modern Copy

I purchased this Andrew Johnson Indian peace medal in copper at the recent FUN show. I like to purchase 19th century presidential medals when I can find them with the "old time finish." The mintages were small, and many pieces have been damaged over the years.



The government gave Indian Peace medals to tribal leaders during the 19th century. The practice dates back to George Washington, and before that, King George III. The Indians received silver medals. Collectors were able to buy copper metals from the mint.

Lewis and Clark took medals that featured then president, Thomas Jefferson, on their expedition. The medals came in three sizes, with the most important chiefs getting the largest ones. The Jefferson medals were hollow because the first United States Mint was not capable of striking a sold pieces. That did not sit well with the Indians. Later medals were solid silver.

The piece shown above is an example of the Andrew Johnson Indian peace medal in copper. Johnson was president from 1865 to 1869. He came to office after the Lincoln assassination. Until recently, he was the last president to be impeached. The vote to remove him failed by one vote in the Senate.

Years ago, the mint sold modern copies of these medals in the original size, in this case 3 inches, or close to it. They had the sand blasted, "yellow bronze" finish. The mint also issued miniature medals in the one and 5/16 format. These pieces were aimed toward younger collectors. They were priced at $1 each, or a little less in sets, which the mint offered from time to time.

This finish was bright red bronze, and the details were sometimes lacking depending upon the condition of the dies and the quality of the original reduction from the original design.

Here is the "mini medal" of the this Andrew Johnson piece. You can see that some of the detail was lost.



The design was by Anthony Paquet. Paquet designed some outstanding medals, but he was never able to have one of his original designs appear on a U.S. coin. His attempt to replace the reverse dies on the double eagle resulted in an embarrassing recall. 1861, the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints produced double eagles with his reverse. All but a couple of the Philadelphia pieces were melted. The 1861-S Paquet reverse $20 gold coin fared a bit better. I believe that about 100 of them have survived.

 

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Nice write up and a great looking medal

 

I saw a Lincoln Indian Peace Medal last week at a coin shop in Boulder.
I wish I had the cash, it was a beautiful Medal.
I had no idea that they did these for different Presidents.
Very cool Medal John.