The Abraham Lincoln Indian Peace medal was designed by engraver by Salathiel Ellis Julian and is cataloged as Julian IP-39.
As struck in silver, the medal has diameters of 75.8mm (first size) and 62.7mm (second size). As struck in bronze for collectors, it has a diameter of 62.7mm.
The obverse features a right-facing bust portrait of 16th president Abraham Lincoln and includes the inscription ABRAHAM LINCOLN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The year 1862 is located in the exergue. Americana expert John Kraljevich notes that the typical example will feature flatness on the highest points of relief, located at the center of the medal’s obverse.
In the porthole on the reverse is a scene of an Indian in a headdress plowing a field with a baseball(!) game going on in the background. Wrapping around is an allegorical motif of two Indian figures engaged in combat. One has another by his hair and appears to be preparing to scalp him(!). A bow and arrow are below. The Abraham Lincoln Indian Peace medal is holed at the top and has a clasp attached.
It is ranked #57 in Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens (2007) by Katherine Jaeger and Q. David Bowers.
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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens
- Uncertified. Large Size, Second Reverse (IP-38): “John Jay Knox Collection,” Heritage Auctions, September 25, 2023 – $2,280.
