1849 Bronze Medal J-IP-29, Zachary Taylor

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,260 MS65BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1849 bronze Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-29 bears the portrait of President Zachary Taylor, the Mexican-American War hero who won the presidency in 1848 but served only sixteen months before his death on July 9, 1850. Taylor's brief presidency coincided with the discovery of gold in California and the resulting mass migration that devastated Native American communities throughout the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Taylor with the inscription ZACHARY TAYLOR PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1849. The reverse carries the standard clasped-hands design with crossed peace pipe and tomahawk and the motto PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. This bronze duplicate was produced at the Philadelphia Mint for collector distribution. Taylor's military background gave him direct personal experience with Indian diplomacy during his decades of frontier service. He had fought in the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and numerous engagements across the western frontier before the Mexican-American War made him a national hero. Peace medals bearing his portrait were distributed to tribal leaders during his abbreviated presidency, though the California Gold Rush rendered diplomatic niceties largely irrelevant as miners flooded onto Native American lands.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates produced in moderate quantities. Taylor's death after only sixteen months limited original distribution numbers.

Cross References

Julian IP-29; PCGS #517798