A 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 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.
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.
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.
