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Tombstone Token Collection (57 pieces) AZ - Tombstone,Cochise County - - 2012aug - General American

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:30,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD
Tombstone Token Collection (57 pieces) AZ - Tombstone,Cochise County -  - 2012aug - General American
Invoicing and lot pick up will NOT be available at the live auction.
Tombstone, Arizona is often considered one of the most romantic of the western mining camps. Located in the deep southwestern desert east of Tucson and just north of the Mexican border, silver and gold were discovered there in the late1850s by the Sonora Exploring Company. Indian attacks and the Civil War intervened, and it wasn’t until 1877 when Ed Schieffelin rediscovered the rich silver outcrops there. Mines of great import soon sprang up, attracting capital from some of America’s wealthiest businessmen. Mines such as the Contention, Grand Central and others were soon large producers, and companies led by the Tombstone Mining & Milling Co. began removing silver by the millions. With the fresh money created from mining, the town exploded. Local history may best be remembered by the Earp family and the fight at the OK Corral. Tombstone can be counted as one of America’s most famous mining camps, along with Bodie California, Virginia City Nevada and Cripple Creek Colorado.

One of the highlights in the collection is the Campbell & Hatch incuse piece good for a drink. This famous saloon was the place where Morgan Earp was shot and killed by Clanton supporters in 1882, a few months after the battle at the OK Corral. Morgan Earp and Bob Hatch were playing pool in the saloon when gun shots flew through a window, killing Morgan. No one was ever caught. Wyatt suspected John Behan (a former sheriff) and Frank Stilwell (stage robber) fired the shots that killed his brother. Wyatt went on a rampage, killing Stilwell and others. This is certainly one of the great western tokens.

This Tombstone Collection is one of the finest and most complete of any Tombstone collections extant. It consists of 49 different pieces and seven additional, unverified pieces found in Tombstone. The majority of the collection came from the Joe Soebbing Collection, a long time Tombstone resident and museum owner. Other pieces were purchased over the years from major western collections. Many of the pieces are the plate pieces in Hal Birt’s Arizona Token Book.

There are twelve self-identified saloon pieces, though most of the Tombstone pieces are from saloons that do not carry the magic word “saloon.” Thirteen of the pieces are pre-1900, dating to the boom days of the 1880s. Many of these are from the early 1880s and the period directly surrounding and related to the Earp’s and Clanton’s battle at the O.K. Corral. Additionally, there are eight pieces dug in Tombstone that have not been verified, nor have they been ruled out as not-Tombstone. A whopping 31 pieces are rated R9 or R10 (exclusive of the unlisted pieces), the highest rarity ratings. A detailed inventory is available upon request.

A portion of the collection has been “slabbed” by NGC or NCS as genuine. A number of the pieces are uncirculated, though most have been found with metal detectors, typical of any western mining camp. Over the past few years, a few select R9 and R10 pieces have sold on eBay for numbers in excess of $2000 each, with several over the $3000 mark. Overall, Tombstone is one of the most highly collected mining camps, and has remained among the toughest of all the great camps to collect. -60001