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Sutro Tunnel Company Stock Certificate NV - Virginia City,Storey County - 1871 - 2012aug - General A

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Sutro Tunnel Company Stock Certificate NV - Virginia City,Storey County - 1871 - 2012aug - General A
Invoicing and lot pick up will NOT be available at the live auction.
Comstock mining district. Cert. #785 issued to A.H.R Schmidt for one share on June 3, 1871. Signed by Samuel Merritt as President and W.K. Van Alen as Secretary. The print and border are in black ink on white paper. A 25 cent assessment stamp dated June 3, 1871 is located at the lower right. An R48 (Power of Attorney), the initials of the Secretary (WKVA) and the date (June 3, 1871) are printed on the stamp. U/C. Lithographer: Britton & Rey, San Francisco. Certificate measures 11.5" x 7", in beige mat and black frame measuring 16.5" x 12.5". Also included is a prospectus for the Sutro Tunnel Company (5.5" x 9"). The Sutro Tunnel Company was organized by Adolph Sutro to construct a drainage tunnel under the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Sutro encountered difficulty in raising the capital necessary for its construction, and the sale of Sutro Tunnel Company stock allowed work to begin in 1869. In 1872 he obtained backing from the English banking house of McCalmont Brothers and Company. The tunnel connected to the Savage Mine in 1878, and contracts to help pay for lateral tunnels were signed with twenty-four mining companies in April of 1879. The tunnel was completed two months later, and by 1880 Sutro had sold his stock in the company. After selling his tunnel to the McCalmont Brothers and other smaller investors in 1879, Sutro returned to San Francisco [Ref: sfmuseum.org/sutro]. -49758