Chris Karstedt of Stack's Bowers forwarded this press release on the silver
Benjamin Harrison Indian Peace Medal being offered at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2015 New York
Americana sale. We covered the topic last week, but this release contains a picture of Three
Fingers wearing the medal. Very cool! -Editor
A magnificent and immensely historic medal, the newly discovered silver Benjamin Harrison Indian
Peace Medal, will be offered at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries New York Americana Showcase and
Rarities Night Auction, February 5-6, 2015.
The piece was recently discovered far from its original context. However, it fortunately bears
the name of a Native American owner, engraved on the reverse, allowing for identification of the
original recipient and the reason it was awarded. “As soon as I saw the images of the medal, I knew
it was special and I was eager to research it in the hopes that a great story would unfold, and
that it did,” said John Pack, executive director of consignments, who researched and catalogued the
medal for sale.
The coin was one of
18 issued to members of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes who were considered helpful in
the consummation of the sale of a vast portion of Indian Territory to the United States for $1.5
million in October 1890. This medal was awarded to Buffalo Meat, of the Southern Cheyenne, and
later became the property of his contemporary, Three Fingers, a Chief of the same people. Three
Fingers’ name is engraved on the reverse in similar style to that seen on three other Benjamin
Harrison medals. “It is very rare but a great pleasure to be able to assign an original owner to
one of these medals,” stated Pack.
It is believed that there were only 27 of these silver medals struck in 1890 and 1891, and they
were the last ones made for official distribution amongst Native Americans. These brought closure
to a tradition that began in the United States with President Washington’s administration, though
his issuance of such medals was simply a continuation of the tradition established by the Spanish,
French and British who issued similar medals on behalf of their kings in the colonial period. This
medal is a new discovery and one of only seven known to survive today.
The medal will be available for lot viewing at upcoming Stack’s Bowers Galleries auctions, at
the company’s Irvine, Calif. corporate headquarters (January 19-28, 2015), and its New York City
gallery (February 3-6, 2015). For more information or to schedule a lot-viewing appointment, please
call 800.458.4646 (West Coast) or 800.566.2580 (East Coast), or email info@stacksbowers.com.
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE CHIEF THREE FINGERS MEDAL
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n45a18.html)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
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