Scarce 1844 James K. Polk Political Medal

[Kirk PA]

We got out this past Sunday to a new portion of a field that we had hit back in June. The farmer had just harvested all of the soybean and we knew there were treats to be unearthed. It was not long in the iron patch and Kyle said, "Quarter hit here." At that same moment, I stated, "I got a copper signal here as well." I dug down to the desired depth and flipped out a honker of a coin-looking object. The guys were all surrounding me at the moment and we were giving "high-fives." We knew that I had something rare, but did not know what it was at the moment.

As you will notice, I also dug a plethora of Colonial buttons, pewter spoon pieces, and musketballs.

I drove all the way home knowing that what I had was possibly something rare, but I could not put my identification finger on it. It was very perplexing. Yesterday, I decided to give Don in SJ a PM and I sent him pictures of the artifact. I knew by the size of it that it was an early medal (41 mm in diameter - larger than a silver dollar). But, what kind of medal? Was it a King George II Peace medal? I had a flood of thoughts go through my mind, but with each hour passing by and no identification on it, it started to trouble me.

After 4 hours of PM'ing and emailing Don, and like he usually does, he came through with an ID. It is a scarce 1844 James K. Polk political campaign medal. If you look closely, you can read "Polk" on one side and "Dallas" on the other. George M. Dallas was his running mate. Their busts are perfectly identifiable on the medal. Wow, I am pumped about recovering such an historical piece of American history. Here is a link that Don sent to me: http://www.icollector.com/Large-Size-Polk-Dallas-Campaign-Medal_i1383504.

This site has to be one of our best. The artifacts being dug from this site could tell a great story that dates to the Colonial period to the early-1840s. This is what makes this hobby so great. The next flip of your shovel could bring you that rare relic, so dig with a thrill.

Keep the passion high!

Kirk

 

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[Woodland Detectors]

Hi Kirk!

That political button is really cool. Can't say everyone has one of those eh?

Type this in the computer and click on the first one. "value of James k polk political medal"

I still couldn't find the value. Nice


"This site has to be one of our best. The artifacts being dug from this site could tell a great story that dates to the Colonial period to the early-1840s. This is what makes this hobby so great. The next flip of your shovel could bring you that rare relic, so dig with a thrill."

Get out of my head! LOL Well said

 

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[Bubba65]

Kirk, congrats on finding a scarce political medal. You guys tore it up last weekend, may there be more outstanding finds in the future.

Bubba65

 

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

that's sweet! congrats man! love that button to the left of the pewter spoon stem!
nice finds!

 

[bookfisher]

That musta been a killer feeling pulling that big boy out of the dirt. Incredible find. WTG! I think it's time to move to PA.

 

[{Sentinel}]

Oh Yeah, this is the Colonial Zoysters of old!!! That is a helluva a site that you guys have put yourselves on. That's the kind of site that we go out to look for everyday and I CONGRATULATE the whole of KKC on some AWESOME finds You guys deserve it man.
That's a great Polk Token, I've found two 1850s Millard Fillmores like it in the past couple months....have the website for them somewhere if you want it....Anyways, Keep the Passion High and let's see more from that HONEY HOLE!!!! Good Job Kirk

 

[Mr Tuff]

sweet hunt MR TUFF

 

[BuckleBoy]

Well, that's a Sweet and RARE find!

That tops a coronet LC any day of the week.

 

[umrgolf]

Thats a really sweet find Kirk.. That would look great on the banner

 

[FortBedfordbob]

Man I've been waiting since the weekend to find out what you dug. I knew it had to be good and I wasn't disappointed. That's a find of a lifetime for sure. Can't wait to see what else has been waiting many years in the ground just for you Rock on
HH
BB

 

[steelheadwill]

Great finds!
Love those old Medals!
Is the flared item with fluted end hollow?
Dug similar piece and wondered what it might be
HH, Herbie.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

More nice digs! Keep posting them!

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Got to love that one , you lucky rascal

 

[birdman]

Very cool find, nice save for sure.

 

[Kirk PA]

Kirk, congrats on getting one of the hardest to find Presidential Campaign medals! Kudos, I do not remember ever seeing another one posted on any of the forums I have been part of over the last decade. Remember, my friend(very knowledgeable medal individual) thought perhaps it was a Clay medal and that it would be a great find, well this is evidently scarcer than the Clay Presidential Campaign medals and yes, I have seen one or two of them posted over the years.
Hoping my friend responds to my email about what the medal really was, interested in his comments.

There is no doubt this find was a challenge to ID, until you got enough of the dirt off to see some more features, I can see how your dream of a KGII Indian Peace medal were formed fresh out of the dirt, but hey, you sure cannot be disappointed with this find at all. I would have loved to have found this particular medal to add to my own collection.

Here's hoping all three of you again have another great day like you had last Sunday!

Don

I am super thrilled, Don, to have saved this from the future plow. I can't even find many auctions of these on the internet. It is a rare find. I want to thank you for identifying it for me. It was a long ride for a bit, but the result was stunning. I am curious to what the medal expert has to state on it.

Kirk

Hi Kirk!

That political button is really cool. Can't say everyone has one of those eh?

Type this in the computer and click on the first one. "value of James k polk political medal"

I still couldn't find the value. Nice


"This site has to be one of our best. The artifacts being dug from this site could tell a great story that dates to the Colonial period to the early-1840s. This is what makes this hobby so great. The next flip of your shovel could bring you that rare relic, so dig with a thrill."

Get out of my head! LOL Well said

Thanks, Mike, for the hearty reply.

Kirk

Oh Yeah, this is the Colonial Zoysters of old!!! That is a helluva a site that you guys have put yourselves on. That's the kind of site that we go out to look for everyday and I CONGRATULATE the whole of KKC on some AWESOME finds You guys deserve it man.
That's a great Polk Token, I've found two 1850s Millard Fillmores like it in the past couple months....have the website for them somewhere if you want it....Anyways, Keep the Passion High and let's see more from that HONEY HOLE!!!! Good Job Kirk

Hey, Josh, this site is definitely special. If you got a high hit, it was a copper. The field seems to have some more left to give. The cornfield still needs harvested, so we have some relics to recover in there. I guess the future will tell. Thanks for the response, man.

Kirk

Man I've been waiting since the weekend to find out what you dug. I knew it had to be good and I wasn't disappointed. That's a find of a lifetime for sure. Can't wait to see what else has been waiting many years in the ground just for you Rock on
HH
BB

I agree, Bob, it probably is a find that I will never duplicate. It definitely beats a copper in my books. We dig our fair share of coppers, but I have never seen one of these posted before.

Kirk

Well, that's a Sweet and RARE find!

That tops a coronet LC any day of the week.

I still have a smile on my face. I think I will until the freeze comes. In terms of value and rarity, this is probably the best find off of this site. We all made some killer digs last Sunday.

Kirk

Thats a really sweet find Kirk.. That would look great on the banner

Thanks, man, for the Banner vote. I guess in terms of rarity, it deserves to be up there, but we will have to see. If it doesn't make it, I won't care one bit.

Kirk

Got to love that one , you lucky rascal

The Diggity Dawg, how is it going? Good luck this fall!

Kirk