Indian Peace Medal - 1845 James Polk, 2nd Reverse, J-IP-26 AE 51mm NGC MS61BN

Here’s a gorgeous bronze restrike of the smaller (51 mm) James Polk Indian Peace Medal (IPM) to include in your numismatic holdings. When you purchase a restrike such as this, you will save thousands of dollars over the price of an original silver Polk IPM. NGC has graded 1 in MS61BN with two finer.

Restored photo of James K. Polk. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

James K. Polk and the Indians

Polk had appointed William Medill as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Medill believed that Indians needed to be "civilized" and that they needed lessons in religion, morality and work ethic. The Smithsonian Institution was created in 1846, and its regents urged the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to gather artifacts that tell the history, daily life and customs of the Indians. One regent in a lecture said it was the responsibility of museums to preserve the wide variety of artifacts created by each Indian nation before those people disappeared from the face of the earth. Continuing, he said, "It is essential...that a full and complete collection of antiquarian objects, and the characteristic fabric of nations...should be...deposited in the Institution."