7993

Thorne Mining & Refining Co. Silver Ingot. Many d

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:375.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Thorne Mining & Refining Co. Silver Ingot. Many d
<B>Thorne Mining & Refining Co. Silver Ingot.</B></I> Many different histories have been written or fabricated regarding the Thorne ingots, which are somewhat common, with more than twenty known. To date, this author (Fred Holabird) has not found a specific mention of the Thorne Mining and Refining Co. in mining literature, despite an intensive search over many years, including various western state official records.<BR> These ingots are refined silver, and as such, indicate that they were sold directly by the Thorne company, and are not the result of a specific mining operation. Four different sources with the surname Thorne bear further study:<BR><BR> 1. Dan Thorne was a miner in Prescott, Arizona from the 1890s to 1905. He had some claims near the Congress area that were bought by the Clark Distillery of Illinois, indicating his ability to promote mines to speculators (perhaps just like the ingots).<BR> 2. The Thorne Copper Mining & Reduction Co. was based in Hawthorne, Nevada. In the 1908 <I>Copper Handbook,</B></I> Stevens wrote that the company had similar "twin" companies operating around the same area. Curiously, this area is just over the range from Rawhide, the site of the Nevada Silver Co. ingot promotion a number of years later. This company was out of business by 1918.<BR> 3. Thorne, Alaska was the site of gold mining. In 1927 the Thorne Arm Mining Co. was active there.<BR> 4. Isaac N. Thorne, a lawyer, was the president of the Pacific Metallurgical Works in San Francisco in 1879. He was still a lawyer in 1886, but the PMW was out of business. No Thorne mining companies were listed in the San Francisco Directories of the period. Summary: There is no conclusive evidence of where or when these ingots were made.<BR> This small-sized ingot has the individual imprint of: 4 DOLS 33 CT / 3.36 OZS / GOLD .000 / Silver .9998 / SERIAL NO 296. Medium gray-blue patina is more prevalent on the top side.<BR><I>From The Alan Bingel Collection.</B></I>