Silver badges

Accession number: 1834.1

Two silver badges made by order of the Virginia General Assembly c.1662, each engraved "Ye King of" on one side and the other engraved with the name of the tribe, "Patomeck" [Potomac] on the one and "Machotick" [Machodoc] on the other. The badges served as passports for Indians visiting English settlements. They were fashioned of copper for warriors and silver for chiefs. Both medals were found on the same Caroline County farm, the Potomac badge in 1832 and the Machodoc badge in 1964.

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