This is an exceptional bronze copper strike 1877 U.S. Indian Peace Medal. The piece is marked on the obverse, “RUTHERFORD B. HAYES PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES” including a raised bust facing left. Reverse is marked, “PEACE” in a glory, central panel with farmer showing Indian Chief the “benefits of civilization” (Julian) and below a pipe tomahawk war club and peace pipe crossed overlapped with a garland wreath. The piece is a strike from the President James Abram Garfield administration dating to March 1881 to September 1881, a presidency cut short by his death by assassination. The circa 1877 strikes in silver, valued at $60,000, included “1877” on the reverse in the glory panel below “PEACE”. This example is an original 1881 striking 60mm by 76mm oval also marked “MORGAN” under the neck of the Hayes bust by the U.S. Mint engraver, George T. Morgan. From the Ford catalog: "The Hayes medal with the date and Morgan's name in full was the design for that administration's intended medals; the type without the 1877 date on the reverse was restruck during Garfield's later administration. Ford's corpus pictures the Garfield redesign for the Hayes type." The Ford example (Stack's, Sale XVIII, 5/2007, lot 165). The top has been drilled for presentation and the piece comes with a gold thread and velvet, leather flag procession presentation ribbon and five-point star medal. Medal is in very good near mint condition with the drilled top and split spotting on the front with crisp details. Provenance: From a historic Eastern Montana American Indian Collection, where the piece was found to be an authentic original, one of the finest collections of American Indian weaponry and antiquities in Montana.