- Collection - Presidential & Indian Peace Medals
1853 Franklin Pierce

Owner Comments:

Obverse: bust left of Franklin Pierce, small date below. Reverse: settler facing Native American with flag behind. Above flag are the words "Labor Virtue Honor". According to RW Julian, "The dies, obverse and reverse for both sizes, were delivered to the mint in late May, 1855. At first the original dies were used to strike bronze copies sold by the mint to the public, but at some unknown time, possibly prior to 1870, a new obverse for the large Pierce medal was prepared; it is noticeable in that it has a much smaller date." It is not known just when the larger medal replaced the smaller for sales to the public but it is known to have come by 1892.
Holed for suspension. Smaller digits in the date confirm that this piece was struck from the new obverse die that the Mint probably prepared sometime between 1855 and 1892.
obverse: eng. Salathiel Ellis.
reverse: eng. Joseph Willson.