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Harvey Harris & Co. Assay Office Letter, Marysville 1862 [158070]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Ingots Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Harvey Harris & Co. Assay Office Letter, Marysville  1862  [158070]

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Very rare. H. Harris, along with his partner D. Marchand, had ingots found on the SS Central America. This letterhead lists his offices at the top: San Francisco, Sacramento, Marysville, Esmeralda, and Aurora City. Dateline Marysville, Aug. 28, 1862. Message to Henry Mesiander(?) regarding draft for $52.40, a dividend for Eureka Mining Company. Signed MD Howell. Purple print on blue paper. Deep folds with some separation. 9.75 x 8"
Harvey Harris was born in Denmark in 1814. In the late 1840s, he was working for the US Mint at New Orleans. He came to California in 1852 with his wife and children and started working for the assay firm of Kellogg & Humbert. He also worked for the US Branch Mint in San Francisco in 1854. In 1855, he opened his own assay office in Sacramento with partner Desiree Marchand (from Paris). A year later, they opened an office in Marysville. Both locations were perfect to help process the gold coming out of the Mother Lode, especially the rich Sierra and Butte County mines. Harris established a presence in Nevada at the start of the Comstock Lode (1859). They opened an office in Carson City, then Gold Hill and Silver City. He eventually focused his interests in the Gold Hill office. He died in 1894 and was buried in Carson City. Marysville California Franklin Collection