SOLD
19,500.00USD+ (3,802.50) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2012 Aug 21 @ 16:01UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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This ornately engraved presentation ingot was given to Mary Thompson Hunt “as one of the ladies of the Presidential Party” when President Hayes visited the Comstock on September 7, 1880.
The ingot does not carry the name of the assayer or engraver, but does follow in a long tradition of presentation ingots to dignitaries visiting the Comstock, inclusive of Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) and President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1880, there were only four independent assayers on the Comstock, led by two prominent men, Harvey Harris and Conrad Weigand’s firm, whose son took over the business after the death of his father under questionable circumstances (murdered) on May 31, 1880. The other two assayers were E. Terra (Virginia City) and Chris James (Gold Hill). The majority of assayers on the Comstock were all working as employees for producing mining companies, and it might be surmised that there were up to 100 assayers working in the region.
The visit by president Harrison was significant. It was only the second time a United States President had visited the Comstock, the first of which was President Grant on Oct. 27, 1879. Hayes followed in less than a year, probably the result of reports from the Grant party on how exciting it was to be in Virginia City.
The Hayes party
The Presidential Procession had started in Wells on the Central Pacific Railroad just after the train crossed into Nevada from Utah, stopped at Humboldt where Nevada Governor Kincaid boarded the train, then on to Reno for another celebration and transfer to the Virginia & Truckee Railroad lines, and hence on to Gold Hill and Virginia City. The Virginia and Truckee blew the whistles all the way through American Flat, letting the Comstockers know their valued guests were on the way. Today, thanks to the Gray family, federal & state funding and private grants, you can take the same route on the V&T RR, and imagine what it would have been like in 1880.
The Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, where Mark Twain got his journalistic start, spent the better part of a page describing the presidential visit.
“yesterday morning our people were busily engaged in decorating their houses and places of business. The Bank of Nevada, the Bank of California the International Hotel, most of the leading stores and many private houses along the line of march were handsomely decorated with flags and streamers, while whole lines of balconies were strung with flags, and in several places both here and in Gold Hill large flags were suspended over the streets.” …”toward noon, C Street presented a Fourth of July appearance, though it was still some hours before our distinguished visitors were expected.” (Reff: 9-8-1880 Territorial Enterprise)
The train was a special one. It consisted of the Directors car (“The California”) from the Central Pacific RR, the Union Pacific Director’s car (Hayes headquarters for the trip), a Central Pacific RR sleeper car, and a “drawing room” car from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RR.
The presidential party stayed at the fabulous International Hotel overnight. Hayes’s wife had a bushel of her friends along. In all likelihood, most had never been West, so it was a tremendous new experience for all of them.
The parade accompanying the visit was monumental. It was one of the most grand processions to ever hit the Comstock. Included in the party were William Tecumseh Sherman - Union general and California gold rush banker, general McDowell and Kearney’s son, Nevada governor Kincaid, CC Batterman, superintendent of the State Prison, Secretary of War Ramsey, and others . “There was at one time not less than 6,000 persons on the street, and in some places much higher.”
The group were taken to the C & C shaft and taken below ground by Superintendent Patton. Seventeen members of the group were taken to the 2300 level, and toured. They rose to the 1700 level, inspected the Sutro tunnel (this was the connecting level). Mrs. Hayes grabbed a pick and chopped out some ore “saying she wanted to carry away a specimen of her own mining.” General Sherman’s daughter was so impressed, she had the men take her down to the bottom of the shaft, the deepest on the Comstock. VC photographers Noe & Lee took photos of the group dressed in their mining regalia, which are rare today.
The two presidential visits had a lot in common. Both parties took along family and friends as well as other dignitaries.
There were a number of Hayes family working on the Comstock in 1880, but it is unknown the closeness of relation, possibly all “shirt-tail”, since none were named specifically in the articles in the territorial Enterprise.
Neither visit was discussed by Myron Angel, in History of Nevada, 1881, nor Elliott Lord’s Comstock Mining and Miners, 1883.
Some members of the delegation were presented with silver ingots, as was customary. This ingot appears to be the only surviving ingot from the bunch. Mary Thompson Hunt was a member of the traveling Hayes delegation. Her name is not found in US Census records of the period, and she was not the wife of William H. Hunt, an R.B. Hayes political appointee. President Hayes was traveling with General Sherman and his daughter, and we suspect Hunt was a close friend of Miss Sherman. Hunt was also not listed by name in the news articles, thus the assumption that she may have been a junior member of the party.
The ingot was probably made by either Weigand’s son or Harvey Harris. Weigand was much more political, and his son is perhaps more likely to have followed in his father’s footsteps and made the presentation, though no presentation is mentioned in the Territorial Enterprise.
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Auction Location:
Atlantis Casino Resort ~ 3800 S. Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, 89502, United States
Previewing Details:
Preview:
Holabird-Kagin Americana Office
3555 Airway Drive Suite#309
Reno, NV 89511
(Full preview, all items will be available for viewing)
Thursday - August 16, 12pm-6pm
Atlantis Casino & Resort
(Partial preview. Some of the oversized items will not be available for previewing at the Atlantis)
Friday Aug 17, 10am-6pm
Saturday Aug 18, 10am-6pm
Sales tax will apply, according to state law, for any items that ship to Nevada or California or are picked
up at our Reno, Nevada location, unless a current, valid re-sale certificate is provided at the time of
purchase.
Taxes:
Tax | Rate | Desc. |
NST |
7.725% |
Nevada Sales Tax: |
CST |
9% |
California Sales Tax: |
Buyer's Premiums:
From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
0.00 |
Infinite |
19.5% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Shipping: Shipping will be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. Additional shipping fees may be invoiced seperately. The buyer is responsible for arranging and paying for shipment of large or special items. A $5 handling fee will be included in the shipping charge. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges. We do not ship any purchases until the auction invoice is paid in full. Purchases will be shipped via our approved, insured carriers, Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal Express will be insured for the full value determined at auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana at no extra cost to the buyer. Federal Express shipments will be sent the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday following receipt of payment. Pick up is available from our Reno office the next business day after the auction. NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension, or weight) may require special handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice.
Payment Details:
We accept Visa, Master Card, Money Order/Cashiers Check, Person Check, PayPal: HKAEbayRep@yahoo.com. A 3% discount is applied to the Buyer’s Premium on all sales. That discount will be reversed if payment is made with a credit card or through PayPal.
Accepted Payment Methods:
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1. This is a Live Auction.
2. Live (Floor) Bidding: Please arrive a few minutes early to check in and receive your bidding paddle. We will open lots with more than one bid at the current high absentee bid or 50% of the low estimate at the auctioneer’s discretion. Please be sure to bid on the correct lots during the live auction. Our auction progress is at a rate of between 100 and 200 lots per hour. When the auctioneer says “sold”, he will identify the successful bidder by number and announce the winning bid amount. If you are not sure whether you won the lot or not, it is your responsibility to ask for clarification immediately. Tie bids are awarded to the first absentee bid placed if not advanced on the floor, or by a phone bidder, whoever is first. Auctioneer reserves the right to reopen the lot in the case of an immediate dispute at the actual time of the sale.
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5. Live Auction Absentee Bidding: Absentee bids for the live auction will be accepted until Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 5pm PST. It is your responsibility to submit all lot numbers and bid amounts accurately. Absentee bids should be equal to at least 50% of the low estimate if an estimate is provided. Bids on “No Lots” or “Withdrawn” Lots are considered no-bids. Bids made in amounts that do not conform to the bid increment table in item 8 below will be automatically rounded up or down by the computer, or rounded to the nearest proper bid increment at the discretion of the auctioneer.
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WARNING: Auction participation through the live internet bidding site is not 100% foolproof. The technology for this process is still under review and development, and the operation of it, and the corresponding internet connectivity issues are far beyond our control. Some folks have attempted to use the live internet bidding process as their primary method of bidding, and have been quite successful. Others have failed completely. Depending upon your computer, server, host and other factors, internet signals may be delayed, such that bids may not be received in time. We cannot be held responsible for these delays, or for the lack of placed bids in a timely manner, or any other factors leading to unaccepted bids that are far beyond our control. Bidders should always have a backup plan for lots they highly desire. Live participation is best, followed by phone participation. We will not reopen lots for missed bids.
7. Reserves: Most of the lots in this auction are unreserved. Gold is generally reserved at or near spot, though it could be slightly below spot.
8. Bidding Increments: All bids must be submitted in U.S. dollars and in whole dollar amounts only in the appropriate increments as outlined below. IF you choose to submit bids in an increment not listed below, your bid will be rounded to the nearest increment and you will be expected to pay the amount to which the bid was rounded should your bid be the winning bid. If you have any questions about an appropriate bid amount, please call us.
From: To: Increment:
$0 $29 $1
$30 $95 $5
$100 $190 $10
$200 $475 $25
$500 $1,450 $50
$1,500 $3,400 $100
$3,500 $9,750 $250
$10,000 $max $500
9. Bid Reduction: All winning absentee bids will be reduced, if necessary, to the next bidding increment up from the last competing bid, as long as the minimum bid requirement has been met. For example, if you submit an absentee bid of $1000 and the next highest competing bid is $250, then you will win the lot for $275.
10. Bid Information: Collectors often ask in advance the price level of a particular lot. We will give out the current high absentee bid until we close the day before the live auction. You may also view absentee bids online at www.holabirdamericana.com.
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12. All stock certificates, checks, warrants, and other financial documents sold herein are sold as antiquities, and have no financial, securities, or public trading value whatsoever.
13. We reserve the right to reject any bid we feel is not made in good faith.
14. The placing of a bid shall constitute the bidder’s acceptance of these terms of sale.
15. Buyer’s Premium: There will be a 19.5% Buyer’s Premium added to each lot. US coins, nuggets, and bullion are calculated at a 15% buyer’s premium. These premiums includes a 3% discount for transactions paid with cash, checks, money orders or wire transfers. All other forms of payment are not subject to the 3% discount and the Buyer’s Premium will be calculated at 22.5% (18% on US coins, gold, & currency.)
16. Sales Tax: Sales tax will apply, according to state law, for any items that ship to Nevada (7.725%) or California (9.0%) unless a current, valid resale certificate is faxed to us at 775-852-8866 before bids are placed.
17. Invoicing: Shipping charges will be added to all invoices. Invoices are mailed or emailed within two business days after the close of all portions of the sale. Within 15 days of receipt of invoice, payment is due in full to Holabird-Kagin Americana, 3555 Airway Dr., #308, Reno, NV 89511. We accept cash, personal checks, money orders, wire transfers, etc. All returned checks are subject to a $25 fee. Cash received in amounts greater than $10,000 is subject to the filing of IRS form 8300, as required by law. Sales tax will be added to all sales picked-up after the auction or shipped to California or Nevada addresses, according to state law, unless a resale certificate is provided.
18. Payment: We accept Visa, Master Card, Money Order/Cashier’s Check, Personal Check, PayPal: HKAEbayRep@yahoo.com. A 3% discount is applied to the Buyer’s Premium on all sales. That discount will be reversed if payment is made with a credit card or through PayPal.
19. Shipping: Shipping will be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. Additional shipping fees may be invoiced seperately. The buyer is responsible for arranging and paying for shipment of large or special items. A $5 handling fee will be included in the shipping charge. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges. We do not ship any purchases until the auction invoice is paid in full. Purchases will be shipped via our approved, insured carriers, Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal Express will be insured for the full value determined at auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana at no extra cost to the buyer. Federal Express shipments will be sent the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday following receipt of payment. Pick up is available from our Reno office the next business day after the auction. NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension, or weight) may require special handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice.
20. Return Policy: All items are guaranteed to be authentic. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. You may return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within one week of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. We have attempted to describe the items and their condition accurately. If no condition is given, assume average. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. NGC certified tokens that are returned must be original, unaltered NGC holders. Any tokens removed from the original NGC/NCS certification holders or items returned in an altered condition are deemed not returnable under any circumstances. When we receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have previewed the lot in person. Therefore, returns are only accepted if prior approval is given by Holabird-Kagin Americana.
21. This sale is being held under the laws of the states of Nevada and California.
22. Neither Kagin’s, Inc. nor its subsidiary auction company Holabird-Kagin Americana shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidders failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure to bid due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any of the online auction networks; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidders failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.