Indian Peace Medals
1853 Rare "Small Date" Variety President Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal Struck in Bronze IP-32b NGC MS-65
1853 Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal. Largest First Size. 76 mm. Scarce Original Dies Small Date Variety. Struck at the United States Mint in Bronze. Dies by S. Ellis and J. Willson. Julian IP-32b. NGC graded Mint State-65 Brown.
76 mm (7.5 mm thick). Julian IP-32b. Belden-48. A beautiful Gem example of this Largest Size Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal, Struck in Bronze at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. This is the rare "Small Date" (9 mm long) variety listed in Julian's catalog of U.S. Mint Medals. Julian states the "Large date" medal was struck from the original dies during 1855-1870. Others say that the "Small Date" (9 mm long) variety is itself the original die, and that the Larger date die was made about 1870 and used afterwards. The official "Silver" Struck Franklin Pierce Indian Peace Medal, which is illustrated in the Prucha reference, is indeed of the Small Date variety suggesting that it is truly the original. This current Small Date variety medal is in Gem quality. It has rich perfect mahogany-brown color with semi-prooflike perfectly smooth reflective surfaces.