Some Pre-Conquest Indian Presentation Medals.

 

Of the three European powers colonizing North America - Spain , France and Britain - the first two never issued special medals for presentation to First Nation peoples. Both made use of European medals, usually coronation medals of the current monarch, which were nevertheless frequently modified by having a loop applied for suspension. But the rule was not immutable; medals without loops may have occasionally been given out, the recipient drilling a hole for the suspension string or ribbon, while conversely, looped medals may have occasionally been destined for European ownership. This also applied to Britain who differed only in that she (or her colonial officials) additionally struck special presentation types. We should note that few were actually "peace medals"; generally, their presentation was a sign of alliance to one side or the other, and occasionally an award for bravery. Until 1760, the two great contending powers in Canada and the northern United States were France and Britain who were almost constantly at war in America , even during those times when peace - uneasy or otherwise - reigned in Europe .

Definite knowledge of medals as presentation pieces is scanty. Only occasionally do we have pictorial or written evidence; more frequently we refer to actual recoveries in former Indian graves, either authorized or exploitive. The French were especially lavish and constant in giving "presents" to the Indians and while there is little in the way of list documentation, it verges on the impossible that they would have neglected to include medals depicting King Louis, the Indians' "Father". Such medals may have been given from earliest contact but the main period of French use would have been of the period between 1688 when James II of Britain - a French ally - was expelled from the throne and 1763 when France was almost totally excluded from North America by Britain.

 

France . The silver "Felicitas Domus Augustae" medal, 1693. Depicted on the reverse are Louis XIV's son and grandsons. This is the larger of two sizes (41mm and 35mm). Looped for presentation(?). In use until the 1720s or longer.

 

FRANCE . Copper, 56mm. HONOS ET VIRTUS reverse. nd

We would scarcely credit the above of being an Indian presentation medal were it not for literary evidence to the contrary which indicates that it was the French medal of choice in the final years before the Conquest even though Louis XIV, shown on the obverse, had been dead since 1715. The reverse depicts Mars and Bellone (War and Military Honour).

Father Reubaud, Jesuit missionary to the Abenakis, wrote that medals of this type were presented on 21 October 1757 to "Chiefs" and "Captains" at the mission of Saint François, apparently in two sizes. Further, he noted that such a medal had been presented to Chief Mathias François of Pictou for his part in the unsuccessful defence of Louisbourg at about the same time.

The medal is scarce even as a restrike - which the above is. Restruck at the Paris Mint in 1880, they are distinguished by having both the cornucopia mint-symbol (Paris Mint) and the word CUIVRE impressed on thie rim. Originals are very rare and, apparently, are unknown today in any other size or with a loop attached.

 

 

British presentation medals were mostly made in what is now the U.S. , little of Canada under her sway until the conquest of Quebec . On paper, she owned mainland Nova Scotia after 1713 but in fact controlled only a few square miles around Port Royal; the same small zone applied to Halifax after its founding in 1749. The rest of the hinterland was occupied by the Micmacs, hereditary allies of the French, who kept up constant raiding of British farms until the loss of Canada and their own peace treaty with the British in 1760.

This being the case, the British made few presentations in Canada until after this date. In the U.S. , the earlier period saw the use of current coronation medals, presumably even back to the days of Charles II (1660-1685) and James II (1685-8). The earliest pictorial representation we have of the British medals in question consists of the above.

This is a portrait of the Cherokee chief, Cunne Shote, painted by Francis Parsons in London in 1762. In the closeup of the medals he is wearing, we can identify that on the right as being a coronation medal of William and Mary (1689-1702) and that on the left as the "Accession medal" of Queen Anne (1702-14). He also wears a silver gorget engraved with a large "G(eorgius) R(ex)", probably from the reign of George I (1714-27).

There is a mystery here: such presentation pieces were rarely passed down as heirlooms but considered a part of the recipient's personal regalia and normally buried with him. The portrait shows a man of no more than middle age and yet - in 1762 - he could not have been presented with the William and Mary medal more recently than 60(!) years before. When he was already a grown man and proven warrior. By the medals, the date of the painting would more logically be about 1715-20. But it's still good evidence.

 

Great Britain . Silver Coronation medal, 1689 of William & Mary. Obv: Conjoined busts. Rev: Jupiter thundering at Phaeton, 1689 and text in exergue.

 

Great Britain . Silver Accession medal, nd (1702) of Queen Anne. Obv: Bust left. Rev: Crowned heart within English branches.

Silver coronation medals of George I and George II (1727-60) may have been used for presentation purposes. If so, the writer is unaware of any documentary, pictorial or archaeological evidence to support the contention. What we do have - evidenced totally by grave finds - is the use of the below. Most of those extant are very worn, particularly on the reverse; that below is one of the finest examples known.

 

Indian Presentation medal, George I

The medal, in copper or brass, shows a portrait of George I and the legend GEORGE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN while the reverse shows an Indian archer about to shoot a deer(?). The workmanship suggests American manufacture and although scarce today, with somewhat over 50 examples known altogether, the fact they exist from a number of different dies suggests a rather large or prolonged issue. All of the survivors are looped or show evidence of a loop having been broken off, such as that shown above.

 

 

The copper/brass presentation medal is probably of American manufacture with the obverse likely copied from George I's silver "Entry into London" medal (shown above), a piece struck in fairly large quantities at the time and only somewhat scarce even today. The unknown "T.C." just below the obverse shoulder of the Indian presentation copy is probably a misreading of the "I.C." (for John Croker) on the silver official medal.

 

As a sort of generic portrait of a King George, the "Indian and Deer" may have been used well into the reign of the second George - even nearly up until the Conquest. But there was also an evidently extensive use of much smaller copper and brass medals of George II, still using the Indian & Deer reverse motif. Although most have loops or evidence there had originally been one (such as the below), not all did. These small medals are actually slightly rarer than those of George I.

It so happened that the final fall of Montreal and the accession of the third George occurred in the same year of 1760, bringing to an end the pre-Conquest presentation medals for both France and Britain .

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.