A striking piece of Houston history sold earlier this week on eBay, a reminder of how criminal justice was once meted out in Harris County.

The medal, about the size of a quarter, depicts a hooded, suit-wearing figure hanging from the gallows. Inscribed on the front is the name HenryMcGee, his ethnicity is described as "colored" and the date of his execution is provided: Aug. 12, 1892.

Also inscribed is the name of McGee's victim, Houston police officer James Fenn.

The back of the medal reads, "Presented to R.E. Sutton by J. Warfel." A city directory from that period lists a Robert E. Sutton asdeputy sheriff and assistant jailer.

The medal, which came from a Houston-area estate sale, baffled some Texas historians.

"I never came across anything like that," said Mitchel P. Roth, professor of criminal justice and criminology at Sam Houston StateUniversity and co-author of "Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department."

At the time of McGee's execution, the Houston Daily Post looked back on the case and noted "there was strong talk of lynching" afterhe was jailed.

Patricia Bernstein, author of "The First Waco Horror: the Lynching of Jesse Washington and the Rise of the NAACP" said it was amazingthat McGee was not lynched and that he was tried twice for Fenn's death.

Bernstein found the medal appalling, even if it depicts a lawful execution.

"It's a medal that celebrates the murder of somebody," she said.

John Kraljevich writes:

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Rare estatesale find shows how capital punishment was once carried out in Harris County(https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/bayou-city-history/article/Rare-medal-Harris-County-hanging-13761488.php#photo-17211940)