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3173

Three Comstock Assayer Checks--Payoff for a Scandal at the Carson City Mint?

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 500.00 USD
Three Comstock Assayer Checks--Payoff for a Scandal at the Carson City Mint?
SOLD
425.00USDto v*********m+ buyer's premium (97.75)
This item SOLD at 2015 Sep 27 @ 11:24UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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These three Bullion & Exchange Bank checks are a very interesting find. All three are issued to (and endorsed by) Gold Hill assayer W.S. James. All three consecutive checks (10404, 10405, and 10406) were issued on the same day, Nov. 2, 1895, to James for the flat amount of $1,000. Each is signed by T.R. Hofer, who was 7th supt. of the Carson City Mint (1892-1894) and worked for both the mint and B&E bank when the latter operated inside the former. (After the closure of the mint, the building served as the U.S. Assay Office.) Each check is stamped Paid at the Bank of California in Virginia City on Nov. 5.



On their own, the checks are collectible as James signed the back of each. But they hint at a bigger story. Why three separate checks on the same day? Why for the flat (and hefty) amount of $1,000?



The story gets more intriguing when you scan the headlines of the newspapers at that time. A week later, the San Francisco Call (Vol 78, No. 167) has a story with the headline "On Track of Gold Bars: The Identity of Bullion Wanted in the Hale & Norcross Suit." A subtitle beneath reads: "Curious Story of W.S. James." The article describes an ongoing lawsuit against the Hale & Norcross for possible fraudulent melting of bullion. The plaintiff, a stockholder, claims $300,000 in gold was missing. The case was initially heard in 1891, when the plaintiff won a small settlement, but was appealed to the State Supreme Court and continued for many years until a settlement was decided in 1898. This article specifically describes the charge: "the deposition set forth that during the time the Hale & Norcross ores were being milled, James shipped from Gold Hill...a large number of bars of bullion to T.R. Hofer at Carson City. Hofer was the chief clerk of the United States Mint and cashier of the Bullion and Exchange Bank...According to the testimony these bars were deposited in the mint as unstamped and unnumbered bars...Most of the proceeds went to that bank...valued at $300,000." According to his "long and searching" deposition, James "admitted that he did sell $100,00 in bullion...and then he was questioned to the source of his supply. He said he owned a mine, but admitted it was not in operation when this transaction occurred." James admits to buying from "various persons, from men who worked tailings who brought small bars to him. He would then melt these small bars and make a large one...He had preserved no record or the memorandums." Another Call article from 4 days earlier describes the process by which James transferred bullion through the mint: James collected the bullion, "sent it to the mint...and drew it out by checks whenever he needed the money, authorizing Mr. Hofer, cashier of the bank, or Evan Williams...to draw a check for a certain amount for him." Could these checks represent residual payments for bullion laundered through James and the mint? Was James guilty in helping Hale & Norcross hide profits? In any case, these checks are intriguing.

City: Virginia City
State: Nevada
Date: 1895
HWAC#: : 30370
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