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Geo. E. Rogers Assay Office - Gold Receipt, rec'd from Hobart, Dunbar & Co. 1868 [169263]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Ingots Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 800.00 USD
Geo. E. Rogers Assay Office - Gold Receipt, rec'd from Hobart, Dunbar & Co.  1868  [169263]

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Assay Office of Geo. E. Rogers, Successor to G.W. Bell, San Francisco, CA, October 14, 1868, No. 4682 Memorandum of Gold Bullion deposited by Hobart, Dunbar & Co. Blue on buff with a vignette of Lady Justice on left; printed by Edward Bosqui & Co., San Francisco. Weight before melting 52.23 oz, After melting 49.50 oz, Fineness 829 Gold and 133 Silver, Net value after tax and fees $849.60. Assay Office was located at 512 California St. A notation at the bottom reads,”847 fine 18 bars”. Very Fine. Assay Office of Geo. E. Rogers: On the fateful day of April 16, 1866, an unmarked container of nitroglycerine exploded, obliterating Bell, his assay office, and many innocent people in the surrounding area. “The explosion demolished everything within forty to fifty feet, including the whole interior of Bell's assay building, the storeroom and west portion of Wells Fargo & Co.'s building, the back portion of the Union Club and other apartments in the vicinity.” Three weeks after the blast, Wells Fargo announced it would no longer carry nitroglycerine in its coaches. George E. Rogers and L.A. Sanderson took over the Assay Office of G.W. Bell located at 512 California Street on April 26, 1866, after he was killed in the Nitroglycerin explosion on April 16th, 1866. (See California Coiners and Assayers by Dan Owens, 2000.). L. A. Sanderson was previously a bookkeeper with Dickenson & Gammins a wholesale for groceries and provisions and George E. Rogers who had been a clerk working for G.W. Bell (see p.378 and 387 of Langley’s 1866 cited above). Evidently Rogers bought out Sanderson who appears to have been the source of the funding when both took over G. W. Bells Assay operations after the April accident earlier in the year. The title of the receipt in blue on white paper is “Assay Office of Sanderson & Co”. with a red printed legend on top “Geo. E. Rogers, Successor to”. This indicates that this Assay receipt form lasted probably less than one year, as later Geo. E. Rogers’ receipts are entitled “Assay Office of Geo. E. Rogers, Successor to G.W. Bell. Also, the vignette of Lady Justice and Scales are identical in Sanderson’s and the latter Rogers’ receipts. The “Sanderson & Co.” without the red imprint of “Geo. E. Rogers, Successor to”. is unknown and must have existed only a few months. Both Rogers and Henry J. Fisher heading up the Melting Department had been employees of Bells for many years. Wolleb continued as Assayer. In 1866 George Rogers took over G.W. Bell's Assay Office located at 512 California Street. In the ensuing years, after Rogers took over, he went through a series of different partners. The business lasted through at least 1871. These receipts are generally all the same style with some minor variations and are a rarity R6, approximately 10 to 20 known. Size: 10.5 x 5.25 inches. San Francisco California Franklin Collection