1809 Bronze Medal J-IP-6, James Madison

Coin Details

Auction Record

$840 MS64BN 08-11-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1809 bronze Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-6 bears the portrait of President James Madison and was produced during an administration marked by escalating tensions between the United States and Native American confederacies allied with Great Britain in the years leading to the War of 1812. The Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were actively organizing resistance to American expansion during Madison's presidency, making the distribution of peace medals a particularly fraught diplomatic exercise. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Madison with the inscription JAMES MADISON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1809, engraved by John Reich. The reverse carries the standard clasped-hands design with crossed peace pipe and tomahawk and the motto PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP, continuing the template Reich had established for the Jefferson medal. Madison-era medals were distributed through Indian agents and military officers at frontier posts from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi Valley. This bronze duplicate was struck at the Philadelphia Mint for collectors and institutional collections. The Madison peace medal is notable historically because British agents simultaneously distributed their own King George III medals to the same tribal leaders, creating a visible competition for Native American loyalty that culminated in the War of 1812.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates produced in moderate quantities across multiple restrike periods. Original silver presentation medals are scarce, with most known examples showing evidence of prolonged wear from recipients.

Cross References

Julian IP-6; PCGS #517791