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THE SECOND GW PEACE MEDALThe Curator's comments on the "GW" peace medal on display at the British Museum note that "The medal is one of two, the other having passed down through Micmac hands...", citing Harald E.L. Prins, 'Two George Washington Medals: Missing Links in the Chain of Friendship Between the United States and the Wabanaki Confederacy', Maine History 28:4 (1989), pp.226-234. The article was "Reprinted by permission from The Medal (British Art Medal Trust, British Museum, London), Winter 1985." Here's a short excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor 
In 1972, a tribal dispute developed between two Indian bands belonging to the Micmac Nation. The controversy centred around the ownership of a rare ‘peace medal,' which features George Washington and his initials on one side, and an Indian sitting at the base of a classical column, crowned by thirteen hands, on the other. A matching silver medallion, engraved with the same images, is harbored in the collection of the British Museum's Department of Coins and Medals. In 1982, this medal appeared in Jonathan King's book Thunderbird and Lightning. The existence of both extraordinary medals remains largely unknown, and has never been chronicled in professional journals of the United States or Canada. In 1984, while researching Micmac Indian history in Maine, I became aware of the two medals and their curious distribution. The Micmac Indians are not quite certain of the origins of their silver medal either, and its blurry history led to the inter tribal controversy over ownership. The Band at Eel Ground reserve claimed that it was their Chief's badge of office, which had been passed from each headman to his successor. In 1972, the Eel Ground Micmac Chief ceremoniously turned the medal over to the Public Archives of Canada, which was to keep it in trust for that Band. When the Micmac Band of Indian Island heard of this transference its Chief Peter Barlow stepped forward in protest. He claimed that the medallion belonged to one of the members of his Band, Mrs. Georgina Barlow, who had inherited it from her mother Rose Francis. Her father, being at one time Chief of the Eel Ground Band, "with the permission of his wife," wore the silver medal on special occasions. In 1979, after a long legal battle, the Federal court ruled that Georgina was the rightful owner of the medal, and it was returned into her family's hands. There it remains today. 
The Second GW Indian Peace Medal Whereabouts Mystery The author had personal communications in 1984-1985 with Georgina Barlow of the Micmacs at Indian Island (New Brunswick, Canada) [footnote 3]. That was over forty years ago. Where is the second GW Peace Medal today? -Editor
To read the complete Prins article from Maine History, see:
See also:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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