 John Quincy Adams Indian Peace Medal, 1825. Silver. First Size. First Reverse. J. IP.11, Pr.42, B.26. Extremely Fine. Obverse signed F. 75.5mm. Rims 3.4 - 3.7mm thick. 2,359.1 gns. No apparent witness line. Pale silver gray with a few touches of deeper gray in the fields. Remarkable, brightly reflective semi-prooflike fields. Holed near the top; well made loop but probably a replacement. Only trivial marks. JOHN strong, QUINCY typically soft. This size is known in silver originals and matte silver, copper and aluminum restrikes. This is the commonest of the three John Quincy Adams sizes and there are many auction records of silver examples to point to.
Carlson noted nine, for example. Schenkel:4024 was a nicked VF and Dreyfuss:5127 was graded about Fine. There was a nice VF in Sotheby's (New York) sale of December, 2000. Presidential's sale of December, 1993 had one counterstamped 'SK' on the obverse. Others may be found in Bowers' sales of January, 1995 and March, 2003 and Stack's 2001 Americana Sale. Hanks & Associates offered a VF at $4,500 in the October 9, 1995 issue of Coin World. The Massachusetts Historical Society is said to have a large J. Q. Adams. The one in the Oklahoma Historical Society is said to have been presented to Levi Colbert. Father Prucha tells us that the largest number of John Quincy Adams medals struck were ordered by the Indian superintendent of Michigan Territory during Lewis Cass' governorship.
Cass was an ardent promoter of expansion of the territory through negotiations for land with Indian tribes. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 meant that Detroit would grow into one of the Great Lakes' chief ports. In 1829, Cass and William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Saint Louis, drew up regulations regarding the presentation of medals to the Indians. These included the requirement that ''The largest medals will be given to the principal village chiefs, those of the second size will be given to the principal war chiefs, and those of the third size to the less distinguished chiefs and warriors.''
Ex F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
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