$10.22 LC and CJ Gillett Silver Ingot NV – Silver City,Lyon County – 1874
This small silver ingot came from the same collection as the Butte silver ingot. It is hand engraved with the names of “L.C. Gillett and C.J. Gillett, August 21, 1874, Silver City, Nev.” With a value of “$10.22” stamped on the bar. It has a high polish on all sides and the end edges are rounded. This bar has been quite difficult in research. The engraving appears to be original to the 1870’s period, as does the bar itself, though it is not exactly the same as all assayer bars. As such, it would seem to represent a special occasion for the two people mentioned on the bar. I originally thought this was a bar commemorating a marriage. I searched the following newspapers for 1874 for any record of such a marriage–or any event whatsoever–both with the surname spelled with and without an “e” at the end: Lyon County Times (Silver City. 1874 was its first year of publication.), Gold Hill News (Alf Doten, Editor), Virginia Chronicle (Virginia City), Territorial Enterprise (Virginia City). Additionally, I searched the Alf Doten Journals (3 vols), and every Census from 1870 to 1900, also using the two different spellings and checking for either person, with and without a middle initial. Of these newspapers, the Gold Hill News was the best at reporting marriages, though I suspect not all were publicly recorded. Records from the two Silver City churches are no longer extant (Catholic and Episcopal). All local directories were also searched. All newspapers were also searched for notices of arrival and departure (normally reserved for stage coaches only). All foreign passenger lists were checked. I was only able to find a single record in all of this: a property record of L. C. Gillett in Westfield, Massachusetts owning personal and business property on S Street in 1870 only, as it was found on a property map of the period. While a different Gillett did work at the Savage Mine in Virginia City during this period, it is neither of these two people.
The Gillett surname appears to be of English origin.
There are several conclusions that can be drawn from this research:
The people were married in Silver City and moved to another remote mining camp, outside of a directory canvas. An example might be American Flat, near Silver City.
The people were killed or died before the 1880 census, and were under 21 or so for the 1870 Census and were missed as members of another household.
The people on the ingot were foreign, visiting the region by train, having come to America on a ship that did not participate in published passenger lists.
The ingot was likely made by Harvey Harris of Silver City, a well known assayer formerly of the New Orleans Mint and the San Francisco Mint. It may also have been engraved by the only jeweler in town, A. Barrelet. The latter would explain the departure from the usual Harris ingot format.
During this period, Silver City was enjoying a boom, courtesy of the Crown Point Bonanza discovery at Gold Hill, just up the canyon from Silver City. The great bonanza of the Con-Virginia was discovered the next year. At the time, it was primarily a “bedroom” community that housed miners, millmen and a mining support community. The businesses included blacksmith shops, hotel or boarding houses (Mansion House, Bonanza Hotel, Silver House, Sierra Nevada), saloons (Oasis and 3 others), drug store (A.B. Stewart-see his drug bottle for Bodie in this sale), dress shop, telegraph office, Railroad depot for the V&T RR, barber shop, bakery, market, Wells Fargo office (John W. Grier, agent), newspaper office, Lumber, Chinese Laundry, brewery, book store, boots & shoes. What is not there were a bank, bath house, dentist, insurance agent. Regardless, this is one of only a few ingots from Silver City (less than five) and as such is very collectible.
[08/2012] https://www.icollector.com/LC-and-CJ-Gillett-Silver-Ingot-NV-Silver-City-Lyon-County-1874-2012aug-Numismatic_i13391251 ($17,327)