Peace Tokens
Peace medals were important tokens that symbolized a peaceful alliance between North American Indians and America and European nations during the seventeenth century.
Their early roots are undetermined, but Thomas Jefferson once said that he saw their usage as “an ancient custom from time immemorial.”
The earliest peace medals in America can date to the 17th century and were issued by European nations. The British, French and Spanish distributed the medallions to North American Indians to foster alliances with various tribes. The medals denoted the prospect of peace between two entities and were handed out with pomp and ceremony with other gifts: knives, tobacco, and ceremonial proclamations. During hostile times, European nations issued more medals to draw Indians to their side in a conflict.
North American Indians looked on
