1801 Bronze Medal J-IP-3, Thomas Jefferson

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,880 MS63BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1801 bronze Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-3 bears the portrait of President Thomas Jefferson, who oversaw the most consequential expansion of the medal distribution program during his administration. Jefferson ordered large quantities of peace medals for the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806, making the Jefferson Indian Peace Medal one of the most historically significant pieces in the entire series. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark carried hollow silver versions of this medal westward across the continent, presenting them to tribal leaders from the Osage to the Nez Perce as symbols of the new sovereignty that the Louisiana Purchase had extended over their lands. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Jefferson with the inscription TH. JEFFERSON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1801, engraved by John Reich. The reverse depicts clasped hands — one cuffed in military uniform, the other bare — beneath crossed peace pipe and tomahawk, with the inscription PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. This reverse design, also by Reich, became the standard template used for all subsequent presidential Indian Peace Medals through the administration of Andrew Johnson. The bronze version is a Mint-produced duplicate of the original silver presentation medals, struck for collectors and historical reference rather than for diplomatic distribution.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates were restruck at various periods during the nineteenth century. Original silver hollow-shell examples from the Lewis and Clark expedition are extremely rare, with fewer than a dozen confirmed survivors.

Cross References

Julian IP-3; PCGS #517796