SKYLER LIECHTY INDIAN PEACE MEDALS

Skyler Liechty has been here before. He's picked a challenging numismatic topic, investigated it deeply, made connections with those who knew the material (and those who marketed it to collectors), became an expert on the subject, published on the subject, and formed a collection whose importance ensures collectors in a century will cite it in their own research.

He did it with the Admiral Rodney medals, inspiring his book Medallic Memorials of George Brydges Rodney, Admiral of the White. We sold that collection in January 2025. He did it with John Law medals; we sold that collection in August 2023. He did it with portraits of Benjamin Franklin, a collection he sold through Freeman's in Philadelphia in 2021.

And now he's done it with one of the most avidly researched and difficult collecting specialties in the American numismatic firmament: the medals awarded to native leaders by colonizing powers between the era of contact and the conquest of the American frontier.

Mr. Liechty, who works in real estate investment in Texas, has studied these medals for many years. He was an author, along with Barry Tayman and Tony Lopez, of "Tomès Prieto's Al Mèrito Spanish Indian Peace Medals" in Peace Medals: Negotiating Power in Early America, published by the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2011. His collection has been built over a similar interval, one piece at a time, scouring auctions all over the world and building relationships with the principal professionals in the Peace medal space in the United States and abroad.

Skyler's efforts have resulted in a cabinet of unusual breadth and depth. Never before have we offered a collection that included awarded medals from so many of the North American colonizing powers. France, whose Royal Family medals offer enough challenges to frustrate many numismatists, is well represented here. The medals of New Spain are extraordinary rarities, left out of all but the most advanced collections, but Skyler has made them something of a specialty. (I will admit more than a little joy in again seeing the Al Merito medal I sold Skyler over a decade ago. The rest of you will be seeing this rarity for the very first time.) The English Indian Peace medals in the Liechty Collection are the sort of pieces dreams are made of: four of the rare brass Indian Trade medals that are so important and fascinating; a historic 1757 Quaker Indian Peace medal; beautiful George III medals, including one of the prettiest Lion and Wolf medals ever, and more. The Indian Trade silver armbands are wonderful things with outstanding documentation, and the medals distributed in Sarnia, Ontario by the future King Edward VII in 1860 are complete by size. The Americans are represented by three fascinating medals, the sorts of things that underscore that history was the driving passion behind assembling this remarkable collection.

Skyler has served as Vice President and President of the Medal Collectors of America (medalcollectors.org), leading that organization since 2016. Their journal, the MCA Advisory, has included several of his articles, at least one of which has been recognized by the Numismatic Literary Guild. Skyler was awarded the MCA's Georgia Stamm Chamberlain Award in 2010. His tireless support of medal collecting has helped usher in a Golden Age of interest in American historical medals. He has led, not only by doing the hard work of organizing collectors and publishing good research, but by doing it the right way: focusing on historical importance, casting a wide net for acquisitions, understanding the material well enough to see relevance and connections that most miss.

We admire the example of his leadership, but this community admires him more as a person: warm and kind, affable and dedicated, encouraging and perceptive. It's a pleasure to handle this collection. We can't wait to see what he collects next.

John Kraljevich
Director of Numismatic Americana

Majestic Large Size 1693 French Royal Family Medal One of Four Original Strikings Known in Silver 1693 Louis XIV Royal Family Medal. Silver. First Size. Betts-75, Breton-1. AU Details--Cleaned (PCGS). 76.0 mm. Plain edge, no hanger. A medal of impressive size and majesty, a rarity in one of North America's most important medallic series. Bright silver gray with gentle golden peripheral toning around the reverse and a blush of warm violet in the right obverse field. Light polishing has left the usual sheen and hairlines, but the surfaces retain much of their reflective character. Scattered contact marks are noted on both sides, individually heavier on the obverse but more widespread on the reverse. A thin scratch crosses the digits of the date at the base of the reverse. The texture of the surfaces, including marks and polishing, is consistent with what's seen on awarded Indian Peace medals and suggests, at a minimum, non-numismatic distribution and handling. The eye appeal is excellent, and the high relief of devices on both sides is extremely impressive in hand.

This piece is struck from the same dies as the magnificent gold striking offered in our 2009 sale of the John W. Adams Collection of Indian Peace medals. Canadian researcher Jacob Lipson has identified just four original examples of this largest size Royal Family medal struck in silver: this medal, an example at ANS with a later added hanger, the Duke of Northumberland - John W. Adams medal that was last sold in our 2009 Americana sale (lot 5006, $16,100), and the example offered in the Michael Joffre Collection (Geoffrey Bell Auctions, April 2022, lot 2). That makes this piece one of just three identified in private hands despite its importance to collectors in Canada, the United States, and France. The Partrick example was a later restrike.

There is good original evidence showing that this type was distributed in North America. Victor Morin, in his 1916 Les Medailles Decernees Aux Indiens published a letter dated October 17, 1723, from a nun in Quebec that pins down the presence of this exact type in Canada at that time: "King Louis 14 had some rather large silver medals, having his portrait on one side and on the other side that of his son and the three princes, his children, to give to those who distinguished themselves in the war. Since then a flame-colored ribbon four fingers wide has been added, which is greatly esteemed by them." A ribbon four fingers wide would seem to preclude the more frequently seen 36-mm and 41-mm medals of this general design type and strongly suggest this module instead. An inventory of trade items held at Fort Frontenac in 1702 counted "2 dozen large medals and 22 dozen small medals," this just a decade after the celebrated presentation of two gold medals of this size to Abenakis who visited King Louis XIV in Paris, a story told admirably by John W. Adams in our 2009 Americana sale catalog.

It appears that this medal type was a frequently used diplomatic gift, not exclusively in North America and not exclusively looped for wearing. Robert Wellington's article "Medals for the Shah," published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 1-14, June 2026 points out several such occasions. In September 1699, nine gold medals of this size and from these dies were struck with loops for distribution, and in 1701 a further four were struck to order. Just as the presence of a loop does not prove Native American distribution, the absence of one doesn't necessarily suggest the opposite. In the late 17th century, the idea of presenting medals to North American natives was new enough that presenting the medals so they could be physically worn and displayed around the neck may not yet have become convention. It's unknown whether the medals of this type sent to Persia were looped or not.

For numismatists who specialize in medals for North American chiefs, this type is really the genesis of the two centuries of medal diplomacy. While earlier bespoke medallic issues had been presented, like the engraved Virginia passports, this type was the first made in numbers with the intent of presenting identical medals to allied natives. The tradition thus begun, it was followed by the English, then the Americans and Canadians, and persisted until the dawn of the 20th century. After 1763, when the French were expelled from North America, French medals were solemnly replaced, one by one, with those of a later conquering power. Few survived that process, making an example like this a prize and a collection centerpiece.

Provenance: From the Skyler Liechty Collection of Indian Peace Medals. Earlier, from Heritage's sale of August 2022, lot 4220.

To read the complete item description, see:
Majestic Large Size 1693 French Royal Family Medal (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1UUCJN/1693-louis-xiv-royal-family-medal-silver-first-size-betts-75-breton-1-au-details-cleaned-pcgs)

Remarkable Gilt Large Size Louis XIV Medal 1693 Louis XIV Royal Family Medal. Gilt Bronze. First Size. Betts-75, Breton-1. About Uncirculated, Mounted. 76.0 mm. 215.32 grams. Round hanger loop mounted at 12 o'clock atop rectangular plinth. C U I V R E punched in single letter punches in an 18th century typeface near 6 o'clock. Especially crisp and expertly applied gilding is rich and golden across both sides, applied with enough subtlety to leave the fields of both sides deeply reflective. Were it not for the edge cut within the subtle rim bruise at 3 o'clock on the obverse and the applied CUIVRE edge mark identifying this as a copper medal, most would assume this was gold and even an accomplished numismatist could assume the undermetal is silver based upon the depth of the mirrors. A few little rim abrasions are seen, along with an edge bump near 3 o'clock on the reverse. The fields show scattered contact marks and typical hairlines, along with a vertical scratch behind the uppermost bust on the reverse, that of the Grand Dauphin.

Struck from the same dies as the medal in the previous lot and the famous Adams example of this type in gold, this piece clearly was produced to imitate the gold presentation medals of this type. The gilding's exceptional execution and the bon mot on the edge to advise the viewer that this medal is copper, not gold, suggests the intentionality of officialdom. It's staggering that the Paris Mint could do gilding this well in this era and almost unthinkable that anyone else could. The gold strikings of this medal were top level diplomatic gifts, awarded to Abenaki chiefs, the Shah of Iran, and others (as described in the previous lot and by Wellington in "Gifts for the Shah"). We could speculate on what purpose an exceptionally well made gilt bronze one with a loop may have served, but this is clearly no mere copy intended to sit in a cabinet. It's a truly remarkable piece.

Martha Hamilton's book Silver in the Fur Trade reports several instances when New France's Governor General Marquis de Vaudreuil requested or mentions "medailles de vermeil" between 1708 and 1710, offering three documented references to a gilt silver composition.

We note nothing similar in the literature, though gilt - and clearly awarded - medals of this design type but smaller modules are known. This exceptional property may be the only such example of this largest size available to collectors today.

Provenance: From the Skyler Liechty Collection of Indian Peace Medals. Earlier ex Tony Lopez, March 2017.

To read the complete item description, see:
Remarkable Gilt Large Size Louis XIV Medal (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1UUCKD/1693-louis-xiv-royal-family-medal-gilt-bronze-first-size-betts-75-breton-1-about-uncirculated-mounted)

Important Silver Betts-75C 1693 Louis XIV Royal Family Medal. Silver. Betts-75C, Breton-3. Extremely Fine. 41.0 mm. 23.45 grams. Round mount applied to edge at 12 o'clock. Even light silver gray with no significant toning and surfaces that suggest presentation and worn display. The surfaces show old hairlines from ancient polishing, not brightness from a recent process, along with a host of scattered contact marks that are most noticeable on the cheek. Some old pin scratches are seen above the word LUDOVICUS along the obverse rim, most severe above the end of the word. There is no significant damage, the rims are intact, and the eye appeal is positive. This has the look of a medal that was presented non-numismatically and worn for some time.

We've had a few bronze examples from these dies over the years, but even the Ford Collection sales lacked this issue in silver. A presented and worn example is impounded in the Musee de Civilization in Quebec, but none was present in the Joffre, Bell, Foster, or Adams collections. The Partrick cataloger suggested a population of less than a dozen.

This size is well attested in the documents as present in North America, though undoubtedly examples of this type served a wide variety of donative purposes. The 1702 Fort Frontenac inventory that included "2 dozen large medals and 22 dozen small medals" suggests how many medals of this format could have made it to Nouvelle France during the reign of Louis XIV. The inevitable replacement of French medals with English ones, a process that became total after the mid 18th century, condemned medals like this one to rarity in North America, and precious few emerge from the Old World as well. The weight of this piece compared to the one that follows is suggestive, as silver trade items intended for the fur trade were often produced with minimal silver weight as a cost saving strategy. This piece's surfaces suggest it did not spend its useful life in a mahogany cabinet in a castle.

Provenance: From the Skyler Liechty Collection of Indian Peace Medals. Earlier ex Donald G. Partrick Collection; Heritage's sale of March 2021, lot 15173.

To read the complete item description, see:
Important Silver Betts-75C (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1UUCKT/1693-louis-xiv-royal-family-medal-silver-betts-75c-breton-3-extremely-fine)

Extremely Rare Ca. 1778 Carlos III Al Merito Medal With Louisiana Provenance First Auction Appearance (1778-1783) New Spain Al Merito Indian Peace Medal of Carlos III. Silver. Betts-536. Extremely Fine. 55.6 mm. 72.81 grams. One of the rarest and most important of all North American Indian Peace medals, with only 10 specimens known worldwide and only five in private hands. Of significant interest to collectors in Spain and the Americas, this medal was designed and intended exclusively as a recognition for the native chiefs of Spanish Louisiana during the American Revolution. The present specimen shows many of the usual hallmarks of presentation and display wear. The surfaces are even light silver in color, finely granular over both sides but still retaining a good deal of liveliness under a light. All that remains of the mount is a horizontal line parallel to the obverse rim at precisely 12 o'clock to show where the mount's rectangular plinth once adhered. The edges and rims show many small bumps and bruises, none individually notable. The devices show good relief and sharpness, but are evenly worn on both sides. A nearly vertical scratch from in front of the profile's lips to above the worn Order of the Golden Fleece on his chest stands out more than other scattered marks and scratches on both sides. This is a medal that has been through some things, but the visual appeal remains strong.

Your cataloger (JK) sold this medal to our consignor in 2012 after acquiring this piece from a gentleman in Louisiana. That man's father (born 1924) "was in the banking business in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (just southeast of New Orleans) since 1949," his son recounted via email at the time. Continuing:

He says that a man came into the bank who was doing salvage after WWII and brought in a lot of coins and the medal. My dad exchanged the coins for cash and told the man he could do nothing with the medal since he didn't even know what it was. It was at that time that the gentleman told him he could keep the medal...The medal was put away and looked at periodically over the years as an amusement. Hurricane Katrina came in 2005 and destroyed our homes. While going through salvaged items, my father came across the medal and gave it to me. I searched the web and finally discovered what had been in our possession all these years. This was the second new specimen discovered in a single year, just months after another new specimen turned up on eBay, listed along with an incredibly rare Louis XV Honos et Virtus Indian Peace medal. That eBay piece is listed as Census #9 at the CarlosIIIAlMerito.com website. This piece is listed as #8.

Since this piece was discovered and sold privately in 2012, one new piece has been added to the census, an example sold in a Jesus Vico auction in Spain in June 2024 that brought just over 50,000 euros, more than $57,000 at current exchange rates. The only other piece to sell during that interval, publicly or privately, are the Adams example, which brought $17,250 in our January 2009 sale before these medals were well known, and the Bosco-Partrick specimen, which sold for $52,800 in the March 2021 Patrick sale. The late 2011 publication of "Tomas Prieto's Al Merito Spanish Indian Peace Medals" by Barry Tayman, Tony Lopez, and Skyler Liechty in the Gilcrease Museum's Peace Medals: Negotiating Power in Early America, revolutionized the understanding of and interest in the Al Merito medals, changing market dynamics significantly.

Four examples are held institutionally, and one is currently untraced but assumed to be held institutionally. The example at the Wisconsin Historical Society is described in the Gilcrease book as a "heavily worn specimen from an Indian grave in Prairie du Chien" in Wisconsin and is "widely accepted as that being presented to Huisconsin, or Mitasse, chiefs of the Sauk and Fox, on November 20, 1781, in St. Louis, Missouri by the Spanish governor, Don Francisco Cruzat." The Asa Thomas Hill (1871-1953) specimen was excavated "from a Pawnee gravesite on land he purchased at the Pawnee Republican Village in southern Nebraska" sometime in the early 20th century. Hill later sold many of his finds to the Nebraska State Historical Society, many of which were later repatriated to the Pawnees. The medal appears not to have been among the items sold to NSHS and its modern whereabouts are unknown. A picture of the medal shows it is well worn and retains its hanger. Other impounded examples are the one held by the Missouri Historical Society (gilt, once presented to Charles Dehault Delassus, lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana who signed the 1804 document turning the territory over to the United States), and two in Spanish museums, one of which is also gilt. Five pieces are held privately: the Adams specimen, the Bosco-Partrick specimen, this specimen, the 2011 eBay specimen, and the 2024 Jesus Vico specimen.

The Al Merito medals have been well researched, and the original documents related to their issuance underscore that this is an American medal intended for native leaders. The full story is told in the Tayman, Lopez, and Liechty article in the Gilcrease Museum's Peace Medals book, which is also available online. Spain took over the French holdings west of the Mississippi following the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years War and held them until Napoleon demanded them back in 1800, with the official transfer taking place the following year. Headquartered at New Orleans, the territory was essentially contiguous with Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, including portions of modern Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, and Minnesota.

As early as October 1769, medals were presented in New Orleans to native leaders within the new Spanish territory. The Gilcrease article quotes Prucha in describing this event:

At the end of the speech, His Excellency [General Don Alejandro O'Reilly, Governor of Spanish Louisiana] arose from his chair to place about the necks of each one of the chiefs the medal which hung from a silk ribbon of deep scarlet color. He first had them kiss the royal effigy, and then with his bare sword touched them on both shoulders and chest, and made over their heads the sign of the cross, and finally gave each an embrace and his hand, where upon they again showed such admiration that it was evident how pleasing to them was the ceremony and that it was the first time they had seen it.

To read the complete item description, see:
Extremely Rare Ca. 1778 Carlos III Al Merito Medal (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1UUCMR/1778-1783-new-spain-al-merito-indian-peace-medal-of-carlos-iii-silver-betts-536-extremely-fine)

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