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Blake Ingot - it COULD have served as currency at the time......

LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited August 2, 2020 9:37AM in U.S. Coin Forum

Acquired this ingot this week - although it appears to have been a presentation piece, ingots this small could have been spent in commerce. From the Owyhee region in southern Idaho, Indian territory at the time (I.T.). Acquired it with 2 other ingots and I'm pretty excited about all 3.

Edited to add one more side of the ingot.




"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.

Comments

  • CaptainBluntCaptainBlunt Posts: 190 ✭✭✭

    Lakesammman
    Nice bar!

    I agree with your statement
    Blake was also in the Arizona Territory

    Over 10 years ago I was doing research on Blake and other assayers when I came across this
    newspaper statement from the
    Weekly Arizona Miner: 6-22-1872

    It took me a little while to find it again

    It is referring to Pletz another AZT
    assayer

    From Mineral Park

    Mr. Pletz , Assayer in Cerbat, is making our money: Plenty of silver bars, worth from $6 to $25, and stamped, “Wallapai District”
    are in circulation here and money
    is becoming more flush in consequence.

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks for that reference.

    CA, AZ, NV and ID - wherever an assayer was needed, he met the need.

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • LukeMarshallLukeMarshall Posts: 1,983 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It looks awesome, nice pickup!

    It's all about what the people want...

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,304 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 1, 2020 4:17PM

    That's really cool. Love the old IRS stamp.

    I don't know much about these but it looks interesting and like a great link to our past!

  • jwittenjwitten Posts: 5,200 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very cool! Where do you find something like that?

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Regulated at Kagin's was the source for it - miss him posting here........

    In doing a little reading, there apparently were Hawaiian laborers working in the area and around 1820 were killed by the native people. That's how the Owyhee river and area got its name.

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • NumisOxideNumisOxide Posts: 10,997 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very nice! Cool.

  • ms70ms70 Posts: 13,954 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I really like that. Very cool piece.

    Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

  • DCWDCW Posts: 7,391 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That is one sexy bar

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • Very cool. I really like odd historic pieces like that.
    It's very hard to value those things. Every time I run across something like that, I worry about paying too much. Yet, when I pass on the purchase, I usually wish I had bought it later.

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That is certainly a unique piece....I am not a PM bar collector, but that would get my attention, and possibly my money. Cheers, RickO

  • AlexinPAAlexinPA Posts: 1,458 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Impressive to say the least. Thanks for posting it.

  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 9,014 ✭✭✭✭✭

    An impressive acquisition. Love the impressed info on all 3 surfaces! Peace Roy

    BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW

  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 12,251 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That is a very nice silver artifact!

    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

    BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 28,421 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nice addition

  • ashelandasheland Posts: 23,231 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Really cool!

  • MeltdownMeltdown Posts: 8,824 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That is super cool. Just how scarce is it? I've never seen anything quite like it.

  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,555 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Impressive that there is a bit of gold noted on the bar, 70 cents worth back in 1867.

    Tir nam beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach ~ Saorstat Albanaich a nis!
  • ChopmarkedTradesChopmarkedTrades Posts: 524 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wow, I've never seen any US silver bar of this age! Is there any published material to learn more about these?

  • CaptainBluntCaptainBlunt Posts: 190 ✭✭✭

    Meltdown
    From my notes taken 10 years ago
    There were at least 14 known FW Blake silver bars
    Out of this total I think 3 are in the
    Smithsonian
    Each bar of course is unique
    Serial number, value , weight, fineness, combinations, etc.

    Most from Owyhee, I.T.
    I do recall seeing a couple of Blake bars from Unionville Humboldt Co. N.T

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,683 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great bar.

    But what is the IRS connection? Why the Internal Revenue stamp? Did they validate it? Was it made/assayed for them?

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭

    There was a tax law that ran from 1862-1872 - basically the forerunner of the IRS. Assayers that conformed to the law had to stamp the ingots to indicate, I imagine, that the appropriate tax had been payed.

    It's somewhat useful in that it helps date undated ingots either before 1862 or after 1872.

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.

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