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"SF Earthquake Ingot": Liberty Head Nickels Melted by 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Fire [199598]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
 SF Earthquake Ingot : Liberty Head Nickels Melted by 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Fire [199598]
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Eight Liberty head nickels embedded in the molten metal of a cash register. Dates that can be seen are 1883, 1891 and 1900. A fascinating piece we are calling the "San Francisco Earthquake Ingot"...

The San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, struck with a magnitude of 7.9, violently shaking the city and rupturing over 250 miles of the San Andreas Fault. The resulting fires raged for days, destroying nearly 500 city blocks and leaving over 80% of San Francisco in ruins.

Famously, the SF Mint was saved from destruction. Built with thick granite walls and a strong iron framework, it withstood the disaster and protected over $200 million in gold reserves, playing a crucial role in the city's financial recovery. But a group of men thought they could take advantage of the chaos of the EQ damage and fire. On April 20th, 1906, a robbery on the Mint was attempted. This event is referenced in San Francisco's Horror of Earthquake and Fire, written by James Russel Wilson, 1906, Memorial Publishing Co. : "It was a night haunted by a thousand terrors and punctuated by the crack of the rifle. The soldiers guarding the treasure vaults of the United States Mint and of the ruined bank buildings were alert. During the night they shot and killed no less than fourteen men who were seen prowling about, intent upon robbery."

We were able to find other references to melted coins collected in the earthquake rubble. In 1908, J.D. Spreckels, Jr. son of the railroad tycoon, donated a double eagle that fused with three silver coins in the fires that ensued to the American Numismatic Society (see: https://numismatics.org/collection/1908.243.1).
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Date:
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: San Francisco
Provenance: