1837 Bronze Medal J-IP-19, M. Martin Van Buren

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,020 MS63 06-16-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1837 bronze Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-19M bears the portrait of President Martin Van Buren, who inherited and continued Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policies. Van Buren's administration oversaw the culmination of Cherokee removal along the Trail of Tears in 1838-1839, during which approximately four thousand Cherokee died from exposure, disease, and starvation during the forced winter march from Georgia to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Van Buren with the inscription M. VAN BUREN PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1837, with engraving attributed to Moritz Furst. The "M" designation in the Julian number indicates this is a later die state or variant within the Van Buren peace medal series. The reverse carries the standard clasped-hands design with crossed peace pipe and tomahawk and the motto PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. Bronze duplicates of the Van Buren medal were struck at the Philadelphia Mint for collectors. Van Buren's single term and the diminishing diplomatic role of peace medals as removal replaced negotiation make his issues somewhat less common than Jackson's. The medals continued to be presented at treaty councils in the western territories where newly relocated tribes were establishing communities.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates produced in limited quantities. Van Buren's single term and the declining use of peace medals during the removal era limit the number of original distributions and subsequent restrikes.

Cross References

Julian IP-19M; PCGS #517786