The Last Canadian Indian Chiefs Medal.

 

The last Indian Chiefs' medal in Canada was issued on the occasion of Manitoba 's Centennial in 1970. The presentations were actually made at a gathering of the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood at The Pas on July 11, 1970 .

 

The illustrations above are much reduced in size, the presentation medals being 89mm in diameter in virtually pure (.999 fine) silver. For this reason, the medals are somewhat soft and heavy, prone to damage easily.

 

The medals were struck at the Sherritt Mint, the engraver being P. Leuenberger. The obverse is a copy of the Arnold Machin portrait then being used on the current coin, the reverse a copy of the Canadian Indian Chiefs' medal reverse generally used since the late 19th Century. Using "sans-serif" lettering, that on the obverse is also copied from the regular Canadian coin but that on the reverse is specific to this medal, reading: "Presented to the Chiefs of the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood for their Bands / By Her Majesty the Queen to Commemorate Manitoba Centennial / The Pas, July 11, 1970 ". Just above this last inscription, "999" has been punched into the field within an oval.

 

Only these large silver medals, usually looped for stringing, are the real presentation pieces and today are considered rare, usually fetching more than $1000 at auction. Smaller versions were made available to collectors and are quite modest in value.

Wayne Jacobs is a numismatic expert. Currently secretary and editor of the "Mid-Island Coin Club Numismatic Journal"of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island , British Columbia, he is the award winning author of numerous articles. The MICC journal are hosted here: MICC webpages Copyright 2006 Wayne Jacobs. This article may be reprinted freely for non commercial purpose only if the resource box is left intact, linking back to us.