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1890 Carson City Morgan Dollar Miners Bank $10 Gold Piece

Written Mining History production equipment (such as
ore cars, ore buckets, hoist cages
The written history of mining takes on many Ore car and more) to small mining
forms and can create a diverse collection – books, equipment devices (such as a
ledgers, documents, photographs, company records, and scintillometer or Geiger counter).
more. It is a seemingly endless category of collecting that is Underground gas detectors are also a huge
incredibly educational. collectible area, the first of which were
developed for coal mines in the UK just after 1800.
Mining Rushes There are collectors for every phase of this category –
Mining “Rushes” occurred at every major discovery. pressure gauges, “black box” gold detectors, etc. Some of
The rushes were the result of mankind’s search for the largest collectors of mining equipment today are public
instant wealth. The struggles of an impoverished amusement parks such as Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.
working class led them to hope … the
eternal positive thought process. That Mine Lighting
doesn’t mean these rushes all resulted in Fancy The development of underground mine lighting is a fascinating
major discoveries. Many collectors collect Handle story parallel to the study of Edison himself. Mankind started with the
by regions, most of which had some form Miners use of torches, then candles, and then candles with iron or wood holders.
of a rush. America’s first gold rush took Candlestick Mechanical devices soon came on the scene such as carbide lights.
place in the Appalachians, circa 1828-1838. The development of electricity rendered a plethora of new lighting
Colorado had a gold rush circa 1858-1863. Idaho had one in the Boise inventions for underground use.
Basin about 1865-1865. Australia had a gold rush in the 1850s. A
modern rush ensued in the western U.S. after 1900 when massive
deposits of gold and silver were found at Tonopah and Goldfield, Ore Processing
Nevada. These are just a few examples. Mankind had to figure out how to get the metal out of the rocks.
Crushers were developed over thousands of years. Other inventions
Mining Finance were made to sift through metals, such as a simple sluice box or a gold
pan. Miners soon learned cyanide could render special metals into
The development of mining finance through time is like the study
of money. Mankind developed a system of public investment, now aqueous form and we found a way to extract it out of solution. All of
these things developed over millennia, resulting in the many
called “stocks.” These markets developed at first on a regional basis, inventions, devices, and machinery associated with mining becoming
then on national and international bases. The collecting of mining collectible today.
stocks worldwide is a big field. A related field of collecting mining
checks is also strong.
Assaying
Mine Specimens The assaying category has always
been popular. This is the category and
The rocks from mines around the
world are very collectible. They come science where we measure the content
of specific metals, thereby determining
in many forms, from the fancy and the monetary value. Assaying equip-
colorful mineral specimens to ore ment, reporting forms from specific
specimens from some of the richest mines, equipment catalogs, and more
mines in the world. Native metal are all desirable to collectors.
specimens are considered a premium
item, especially gold, whether in
crystalline form or nuggets (the product Comstock Lode Assay Office Receipt, 1876 Bullion Business
of erosion). This special category is also
interesting to study. Historically, bullion was a form of money. It was
Metal Products traded, melted, and retraded for thousands of years.
The collection of ancient bullion is difficult, as most items are in
The metal products from mines are essentially the most highly
collected category in the world. The largest subsection is coins. In the museums. But the business changed again in modern times. It became
the basis for international wealth and the sole product from which
U.S., we have privately minted coins and tokens—all legitimate forms many countries based their currency value. Today, we have international
of money at one time—all made for a purpose, particularly when there bullion markets. These markets changed the ways they were historically
was no Federal money circulating in the early years of a mining camp. protected. Enter today’s counterfeiters, who use high-density tungsten
Another important collecting category is ingots. These are in the form as a replacement in modern gold bars. Some of the gold bullion flowing
of historical ingots to modern ingots of several categories. from California Mines in the 1850s went straight to New York and the

U.S. Mint. Other gold bullion was purchased by foreign entities and
Mining Equipment shipped overseas to fortify international coffers.
This major category is so large it can encompass everything from continued on page 36
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