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(George Washington) INDIAN PEACE MEDAL - Oval medal, approximately 3"X4", engraved on a sheet of...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
(George Washington) INDIAN PEACE MEDAL - Oval medal, approximately 3 X4 , engraved on a sheet of...
(George Washington) INDIAN PEACE MEDAL - Oval medal, approximately 3"X4", engraved on a sheet of silver, and honoring President George Washington. On front side is a full length figure of an Indian wearing a headdress of feathers and draped with a blanket. He is dropping his tomahawk with his right hand, and with his left he is receiving a pipe of peace from a female figure in the garb of Minerva, undoubtedly meant to symbolize America. The inscription "G. WASHINGTON PRESIDENT" appears above, and the date "1789" below. In the foreground are a shield and a spear, in the background a plow. The verso shows the arms of the United States - an eagle with extended wings, a shield on the breast with 13 stripes, the right talon holding an olive branch, the left arrows. This is the earliest form of an Indian Peace Medal used by the United States Government, bearing the date 1789, the year of President Washington's inauguration. It is likely that these medals were given to the Creeks at the Treaty of New York in 1790, the first occasion on which there are records of the presentation of silver medals to Indian chiefs by the American Government. Because these metals were hand engraved and not struck from dies, no two of the medals are exactly alike. They were produced by private silversmiths or engravers, most of whom are unknown. Light overall wear, overall VG . $15,000-20,000