(1853) Bronzed-Copper Medal J-IP-32, Franklin Pierce

Coin Details

Auction Record

$4,560 XF Details 08-31-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

The circa 1853 bronzed copper Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-32 bears the portrait of President Franklin Pierce, whose administration pursued aggressive territorial expansion and Indian removal policies across the Kansas and Nebraska territories. Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which opened vast tracts of Native American land to white settlement and sparked violent conflict between pro-slavery and free-state settlers. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Pierce with the inscription FRANKLIN PIERCE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1853, with the bronzed copper finish providing a dark, lustrous surface. The reverse carries the standard clasped-hands design with crossed peace pipe and tomahawk and the PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP motto. Pierce's presidency saw the negotiation of numerous treaties with Great Plains tribes that ceded millions of acres to make way for the transcontinental railroad and white settlement. Peace medals served as diplomatic instruments during these often coercive negotiations, where tribal leaders faced the choice of signing treaties on American terms or risking military confrontation. The bronzed copper format indicates a carefully finished collector duplicate.

Rarity Notes

Bronzed copper finish produced in limited quantities. Pierce's single term generated a moderate number of original diplomatic distributions.

Cross References

Julian IP-32; PCGS #535440