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WCB & Co. Silver Ingot. William C. Bousfield & Co., Vir

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
WCB & Co. Silver Ingot. William C. Bousfield & Co., Vir
<B>WCB & Co. Silver Ingot.</B></I> William C. Bousfield & Co., Virginia City, Nevada, ca. 1867. This small 2.50 ounce silver ingot has been through the mill, with an assay chip sealed with Bousfield's "B," and a later drill hole to check the fineness. In this case, the bar has a low silver fineness of 543, and an about average Comstock gold fineness of 012. The other impurity may be copper, typical of the deep levels of the north-end Comstock mines, though the metal in this ingot could be from a prospect outside of the Comstock proper. It is presently the only known piece from Bousfield.<BR> William Bousfield was born in England about 1843, according to census records. He appears to have opened his own assay lab sometime after March, 1867, which he had through 1871 or a little later. Bousfield had a tough job ahead of him when he opened up for business. In 1867 there were eight assay firms in Gold Hill and Virginia City, though Bousfield may have been working for one of them before he went out on his own. Little is known of Bousfield, as he is not mentioned in Angel or DeQuille. His partner (the "& Co.") was Pembroke Murray, born in Alabama in 1832, and was a merchant in Yreka, California in 1860, according to census records. He was not found anywhere in America in the 1870 or 1880 census records. He may have been a silent partner to Bousfield.<BR><I>From The Kagin Reference Collection of Frontier Ingots.</B></I>