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Union Cons. Mining Co. of Tennessee Stock [175973]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Stock & Bond - Mining Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
Union Cons. Mining Co. of Tennessee Stock    [175973]

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Union Mining Cons. Mining Company of Tennessee stock. Issued 1866, #1402 50 shares. 25c brown Internal Revenue stamp. "Julius Eckhardt Raht was born in 1826 in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1850, where he made his fortune in the mining industry. In 1854, Raht decided to seek his fortune wealth in copper mining near Cleveland,Tenn., in an area now known as Ducktown. After six successful years, he became the chief of operations for all mines and smelting works in the area. Shortly after the Civil War began, the Confederates confiscated all the mines in Ducktown, bringing hardships to Raht and the mining community. After the war, Raht returned to Ducktown mines and began to personally finance much of the recovery work. He made good progress until 1875 when things turned sour between Raht and the Union Consolidated Mining Company. Raht claimed that the company had become financially indebted to him to the sum of $84,711.61 - equivalent to $1.7 million in today's dollars! However, the mining company claimed that Raht had built an illegal personal fortune by converting the company’s assets to his own. John Baxter, a lawyer for the Union Consolidated Mining Company, stated: “This record is an interesting one. It displays a capacity for original, intricate and far reaching fraud, beyond anything that has hitherto come under the judicial observation of this court . . . He never neglected an opportunity to drain any and every one that came within his reach…” And so a long trial began. One of Raht’s lawyers later commented: “The pleadings and proof make a transcript in the Supreme Court of 6,000 pages, and, together with exhibits, make a record which surpasses in size any record ever seen in the Supreme Court of Tennessee.” Raht passed away in 1879 before the case was decided. Ultimately, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided in Raht’s favor and the mining company went bankrupt." from tslablog.blogspot.com. Ducktown, Tenn. became one of the most important copper producers of the last 200 years in the Appalachin belt.
Tennesee Herzog Collection