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19th Century Lead-silver ingot, from "Central Nevada"

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Ingots Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
19th Century Lead-silver ingot, from  Central Nevada
SOLD
475.00USDto T******1+ buyer's premium (92.63)
This item SOLD at 2014 Sep 14 @ 14:43UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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19th Century Lead-silver ingot, from "Central Nevada." This unique and special ingot is 4" x 8" x 2", the exact size of a brick. There are no punch marks of any kind, other than two small imprints from square nails. While the surface is lead gray, the ingot must have a very interesting history. We have not yet had it assayed. Here are the interesting attributes: 1. There are classic 19th century assay chips taken from opposing corners. 2. There are two places on the ingot where there are apparent gold "fragments". These are not separated gold, as occurs from high concentrations of gold in a dore bar, where the gold starts to part from the mix. My conclusion from this is that the ingot may be made of floor scrapings, dust and debris from an assay office or large scale mine operation 3. The long sides of the "brick" show paint residue, leading to the conclusion that this ingot was used, or placed in a wall as "brick". 4. The "brick" was found in Fallon, Nevada. The obvious near-source locale for lead is Eureka, where the Richmond and Eureka Consolidated mines operated. Both were major silver-lead producers in Nevada's history. Other mines nearby carried significant amounts of gold (viz: the Windfall mine). Austin is another possible source. 5. The "brick" shape is non-standard for a lead-silver mine, and is thus potentially home made by the melter or assayer, specifically to hide in a wall. Whatever the real story is behind this fascinating ingot, it is sure to be a story-teller today.City: County: State: NVDate: