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Sale 32
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Lot 2626
Colorado Gold Ingot. The Economic Gold Extraction Co. 1904. 21. 5/10 carat; 220.4 DWT. $204.10 gold value. Arequa Colo. Bar #7. Assayed by Arequa Assay Office. This is the first such bar we have seen in our 50 plus years in business! Possibly unique and certainly extremely rare. Housed in a custom plastic holder. Worthy of further research is it might have intriguing attachments to the then soon-to-be-open Mint at Denver, Colorado, two years after the date on this gold bar.
Up to the 1890's much of Colorado's mining wealth came in the form of silver and the nation became dependant on its silver for coinage; Colorado produced over 50% of the total silver mined in the U.S. each year. With silver coinage in political trouble and the panic of 1893, Colorado's great silver mines had been delivered a devastating blow. It was Cripple Creek that came to the rescue! With gold production that was at ever-increasing levels, some thought there to be an unending supply of gold and the camp grew almost faster than it could keep up with itself. New capital from the East and around the world flowed into the Cripple Creek area, including the many mining towns such as Arequa Gulch and Victor that popped up at this time. This activity bolstered not only the Colorado economy, but undoubtedly, the entire nation. Some believe that it was Cripple Creek that helped pull the entire nation out of the panic of 1893. This activity and enormous gold production gained the Cripple Creek region the name of "The Greatest Gold Camp on Earth."
This bar was on exhibit at our table at this years ANA in San Francisco. Don Kagin recalls examining this bar or a similar one many years ago. No photos or other information is available and thus further research is needed. From an old time collection, this bar is being offered AS IS.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 20,000.
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| Realized $9,200 |
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