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Cerro Gordo Silver-Lead Ingot remnant [190359]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:600.00 - 1,200.00 USD
Cerro Gordo Silver-Lead Ingot remnant [190359]
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This item SOLD at 2024 Nov 26 @ 11:53UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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The Union Mine at Cerro Gordo produced thousands of silver-lead ingots from the late 1860s to the 1870s. Thanks to a metal detectorist, about a dozen of these ingots were found nearly five decades ago. Some are marked "union Mine" others "Cerro Gordo". Our company sold about half of them over the years. Most are in museums today. This is a cut piece of one of the huge ingots. It measures 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 3", and weighs 20 pounds.
By the early 1870s, when the mine was reaching its lower levels, the silver to lead ratio dropped greatly, such that these ingots became lead-silver ingots. Still necessary for industry, the ingots were shipped to the Selby Smelter in California. The silver content is less than one precent. From the "Nugget Ace" collection. [ Cerro Gordo California