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Mercury Flask, Comstock Lode, c1870s. [193316]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:75.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 - 250.00 USD
Mercury Flask, Comstock Lode, c1870s. [193316]
SOLD
225.00USDto o******x+ buyer's premium (56.25)
This item SOLD at 2025 Feb 02 @ 10:31UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
FINAL AUCTION RECORD The Auctioneer’s podium notes serve as the final, legally binding record of the auction results, superseding any electronic bidding records. See Terms and Conditions
A standard mercury (quicksilver) mercury flask, about 15" tall, dug near one of the old mill sites around Virginia City by bottle diggers decades ago. These flasks held 80 pounds of mercury that were used in the stamp mill process , where crushed ore in very fine particle size was run over a slightly slanted copper plate coated with mercury, which attached the gold/silver. That mercury, considered "pregnant", was then placed in a retort, with the mercury saved for future use, and the gold/silver mass then smelted into a dore ingot. Most of the mercury for the Comstock came from New Almaden near Santa Clara, Cal.
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Date:
Country (if not USA):
State: Nevada
City: Virginia City
Provenance: