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LR. 839 — The Ashburton Treaty / Micmac Indian Peace Medal. (1842). Copper.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:5,000.00 CAD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 CAD
LR. 839 — The Ashburton Treaty / Micmac Indian Peace Medal. (1842). Copper.
SOLD
7,000.00CAD+ (1,400.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2024 Oct 04 @ 21:10UTC-4 : AST/EDT

Buyer’s Premiums will be added on all items as per the Terms & Conditions of the sale. Invoices will be emailed out after all sessions of the Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale have concluded.

Breton-23, Jaimeson-32. 64.5mm. 140.2g. Plain edge. Signed B. WYON. R.W. McLachlan’s description of this rare medal appears in the Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal as follows: “The Ashburton Treaty Medal was given, in 1842, to several of the Micmac and other Eastern Indians who assisted Lord Ashburton, as guides and otherwise, in laying out the boundary line between Canada and the United States. Only one size, somewhat smaller than the largest of the earlier issue, occurs.” Jamieson’s description of the circumstances under which these medals were given out differs considerably, however:

“Amongst the Chiefs to whom this medal was presented were those Indians who composed the delegation which visited England in 1842 with the object of bringing to the notice of the British Government matters relating to the laws concerning the fishing grounds of the Micmac tribe of Restigouche. To the great disappointment of these Indians who had come to London to lay their troubles before Her Majesty, there were not accorded an audience, but as a consolation Chief Joseph Marie Itkabeitch, leader of the delegation, and the other members, each received a medal with a letter from Downing Street, dated 2nd February 1842, which after the usual compliments, state: — ‘Her Majesty has not been able to grant You and interview, but Her Majesty has signified Her Pleasure that You should each be presented with a medal in token of the interest Her Majesty takes in Your welfare.’”

Chief Itkabeitch’s engraved silver medal is held in the collection of Library and Archives Canada. A bronze representative was offered as lot 77 in the 1920 sale of the W.H. Hunter Collection. The medal is otherwise missing from seemingly every other major collection of Canadian historical and Indian peace medals we are aware of, though it is a certainty that others of this type exist. Each side is golden-brown with smooth, partly proof-like surfaces. Housed in a custom Capital holder with descriptive text.
This is part of the Geoffrey Bell Collection.