1865 Bronze Medal J-IP-40, Andrew Johnson

Coin Details

Auction Record

$960 MS64BN 04-26-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1865 bronze Indian Peace Medal cataloged as Julian IP-40 bears the portrait of President Andrew Johnson, who assumed office following Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865. Johnson's presidency coincided with the immediate post-Civil War period when the federal government dramatically escalated its military campaigns against Native American nations across the Great Plains, culminating in the Red Cloud War and the establishment of the reservation system. The obverse features a right-facing bust of Johnson with the inscription ANDREW JOHNSON PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. A.D. 1865. The reverse carries the standard peace medal design. This bronze duplicate was produced at the Philadelphia Mint for collector distribution rather than diplomatic presentation. Johnson's Indian policy was shaped by the massive westward surge of settlement and railroad construction that followed the Civil War, as demobilized soldiers and eastern immigrants flooded onto the Great Plains. Peace medals continued to serve as diplomatic instruments during treaty negotiations, though the military power imbalance between the United States and Native American nations had shifted decisively in the government's favor following the Civil War. Johnson-era peace medals were among the last issued before the series transitioned away from the traditional clasped-hands reverse design.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates produced in moderate quantities. Johnson's presidency saw extensive treaty negotiations requiring medal distribution across the western frontier.

Cross References

Julian IP-40; PCGS #517802