A magnificent and immensely historic medal, the newly discovered silver Benjamin Harrison IndianPeace Medal, will be offered at the Stack's Bowers Galleries New York Americana Showcase andRarities Night Auction, February 5-6, 2015.

The piece was recently discovered far from its original context. However, it fortunately bearsthe name of a Native American owner, engraved on the reverse, allowing for identification of theoriginal recipient and the reason it was awarded. "As soon as I saw the images of the medal, I knewit was special and I was eager to research it in the hopes that a great story would unfold, andthat it did," said John Pack, executive director of consignments, who researched and catalogued themedal for sale.

The coin was one of18 issued to members of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes who were considered helpful inthe consummation of the sale of a vast portion of Indian Territory to the United States for $1.5million in October 1890. This medal was awarded to Buffalo Meat, of the Southern Cheyenne, andlater became the property of his contemporary, Three Fingers, a Chief of the same people. ThreeFingers' name is engraved on the reverse in similar style to that seen on three other BenjaminHarrison medals. "It is very rare but a great pleasure to be able to assign an original owner toone of these medals," stated Pack.

It is believed that there were only 27 of these silver medals struck in 1890 and 1891, and theywere the last ones made for official distribution amongst Native Americans. These brought closureto a tradition that began in the United States with President Washington's administration, thoughhis 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. Thismedal 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, atthe company's Irvine, Calif. corporate headquarters (January 19-28, 2015), and its New York Citygallery (February 3-6, 2015). For more information or to schedule a lot-viewing appointment, pleasecall 800.458.4646 (West Coast) or 800.566.2580 (East Coast), or email info@stacksbowers.com.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE CHIEF THREE FINGERS MEDAL(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n45a18.html)