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Pacific Mill & Mining Co. Check Collection incl. Mackay & Fair Signatures [163916]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:120.00 USD Estimated At:240.00 - 400.00 USD
Pacific Mill & Mining Co. Check Collection incl. Mackay & Fair Signatures [163916]
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Lot of 4. 1) Rare 1874 Bank of California check issued to the Carson Wood Company, signed by Fair. Manuscript "Pac. M&M Co." written next to signature line. 2-3) Pair of Bank of California checks with green print and RN-D. Both issued in 1875. One is signed by John Mackay, and the other is signed by Fair. The Mackay signature on this check is rare. 4) Bank of California check with RN-C21b, unissued. Occidental Mill check with that crossed out and "Pac. Mill & Mng Co." written in ink below the RN. Rare RN. The company took over the Occidental Mill along with about a dozen others.

The Pacific Mill & Mining Company was established by the "Bonanza Firm" (Mackay, Fair, Flood, and O'Brien) in the 1870s. The Bonanza Firm challenged the broad control Ralston and Sharon exercised over the Comstock Mines, backed by the Bank of California, by joining their finances in various stock operations and transactions, leading to the formation of a new group of mining corporations. These included Hale & Norcross, Gould & Curry, Consolidated Virginia, and others. In their campaign against the Bank Crowd, the Bonanza Firm adopted tactics similar to those Ralston, Sharon and the Bank of California used the previous decade to gain control over the Comstock. They purchased all the major mine suppliers, and in 1877 the group established an "independent" mill, the Pacific Mill and Mining Company, which was wholly owned by the "Bonanza Firm" and incorporated under the Laws of California. The company owned a number of other mills in the Comstock area including the Bacon Mill, Brunswick Mill, California Mill, California Pan Mill, Consolidated Mill, Mariposa Mill, Morgan Mill, Occidental Mill, Omega Mill, Rhode Island Mill, Trench Mill, and the Woodworth Mill/Ditch. Later, the Bonanza Firm successfully defended monopoly accusations and shareholders claims of fraud involving the Pacific Mill and Mining Company, by arguing that their business practices represented "industry custom."

Date: 1874-77
Country (if not USA):
State: Nevada
City: Virginia City
Provenance: