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J.A. Mars Assayer - Ore for Assay Receipt, rec'd from H.M. Patterson, Esq. 1871 [163557]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Ingots Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
J.A. Mars Assayer - Ore for Assay Receipt, rec'd from H.M. Patterson, Esq.  1871  [163557]

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J. A. Mars California Assay Office, 512 California Street, San Francisco ñ November 21, 1871 - No.1042 Memorandum of Assay ìof Sample of Ore Marked #2î for H.M. Patterson Esq. This receipt measures 7.75 x 9.75î and is printed on letter sheet buff colored paper in a medium blue ink. Metals Assayed ìPlacer Gold.î at ì$131.99 Silver, 1 ton, 2000 lbs.î Signed J. A. Mars, Assayer. The address of this assay office is the same as George E. Rogers successor to G. W. Bell and must have passed to Lawrence and Mars sometime around 1870. The California Assay Office at 512 California Street was originally managed by H.H. Lawrence, with J.A. Mars as the assayer. Mars bought out Lawrence in mid-1871 and ran the assay office for a while thereafter. Assay reports or bullion receipts from this firm are extremely rare, with a rarity of R8 (1 to 3 pieces known). Very Fine. Very Rare California Assay Office Ore Memorandum, 1871, Possibly for Comstock Silver. This is the rare form for this San Francisco assay office. California Assay Office, No. 512 California Street, J.A. Mars, Assayer (H. H. Lawrence crossed out). Dated Nov. 21, 1871. The address of this assay office is the same as George E. Rogers successor to G. W. Bell and must have passed to Lawrence and Mars sometime around 1870. The California Assay Office at 512 California Street was originally managed by H.H. Lawrence, with J.A. Mars as the assayer. Mars bought out Lawrence in mid-1871 and ran the assay office for a while thereafter. Memorandum of Assay of ìSample of Oreî No. 1 deposited by W.H. Patterson, Esq. Assayed for silver and gold, but the sample contained only silver, 163.33 ozs per ton. Signed by J.A. Mars. 9.75 x 7.75î Folds. Where was this ore from? W.H. Patterson was a lawyer in the firm Patterson & Stow, 513 Jackson St. according to the 1871 SF directory. W.W. Stow, his partner and brother-in-law, was a very prominent railroad lawyer. According to the Annual Mining Review & Stock Ledger (1876), Patterson was at one time a trustee for the Mariposa Land & Mining Co. and both president and trustee for the Leviathan Mine in Gold Hill, Nevada. The fact that this ore sample is high-grade silver would point to a Nevada source. Therefore, it is possible this assay was for a Comstock Lode sample, perhaps even from the Leviathan. The Leviathan was staked in 1863 on the East Ledge, 1,000 feet in front and parallel to the Comstock Lode, opposite the Belcher and Crown Point Mines. The East Ledge (and this mine) were actively developed in 1874 when the mine was taken over by a San Francisco corporation. Assay reports or bullion receipts from this firm are extremely rare, with a rarity of R8 (1 to 3 pieces known). Very Fine. Size: 7.75 x 10 inches. San Francisco California Franklin Collection