Indian Peace Medals and Related Items: Collecting the Symbols of Peace and Friendship

Winner “Best Medal and Token Book” in 2003 by the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG).

ISBN # 0-9770359-0-5

 

LCCN # 2004096208

What’s New in the Revised Edition (2005)

Since the 2003 release of the first edition, much has changed in this particular collecting arena. The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has resulted in an explosion of commemorative coins and medals with peace medal designs, made by the US Mint and by private mints. The Indian Peace Medal design on the 2004 US nickel has created a renewed interest and placed the focus on this fascinating field.

In addition to describing these interesting new collectibles, this edition updates information in every chapter, adds quotes from chiefs at the start of each chapter, discusses many additional medals, especially the popular “mahogany brown” 19th century US Mint bronze Indian Peace Medal restrikes and their current values, describes the most common counterfeits, fakes and fantasy medals being sold today, and contains an expanded Canadian Chief's Medals and African Chief's Medals section, plus an expanded glossary and index. There is also additional information about unique modern issues, including the heaviest Indian Peace Medal ever minted for use in the United States. Perhaps the biggest change is the 8-page Price List for medals in all 7 categories. Many readers wrote requesting that a valuation guide be added. All 350 copies in the printing are signed and numbered by the author and are available through this web page or through the online auction site eBay (search term “Indian Peace”).

Comparison of First and Revised Editions of: Indian Peace Medals and Related Items

Date    Pages  Printing            Word Count    No. of Captions           Price List

2003    161      200 copies      50,000             55                                                 No 

2005    205      350 copies      61,000             69                                              Yes

This book also contains:

  • Color covers front and back with illustrations of many types of Indian Peace Medals and related items,
  • Table of Contents, Table of Figures, Preface, Glossary, Index, and Endnotes,
  • More than 60 illustrations containing about 150 items, 
  • Easy-to-read 12 point type, and
  • A spiral binding that allows the book to lie flat when open.

Excerpts published in the Numismatist and Coin World in 2002.

“Rita Laws’ new book on collecting Indian Peace Medals brings new perspective to the hobby in a specialized area rich in history and full of challenge. It is a must-read for newcomers as well as seasoned medal collectors.” -Beth Deisher, Editor, Coin World, 2003

See the “Quick Facts” and “About the Book” links above to learn more about Indian Peace Medals.

 

 

 

Copyright © 2003 and 2005 by Rita Laws