6.81 oz 1886 Florence Commercial – Arizona Presentation Ingot
Little is known about this ingot, and it surfaced in 2011 on Ebay with an a mistaken foreign attribution. It was originally tested using an XRF analyzer and the breakdown came out to:
- 98.3% Ag (Silver)
- 1.47% Pb (Lead)
- .24% Cu (Copper)
This is not an uncommon refined mine mix of silver seen during the era. Furthermore, it’s a match for the Silver King Mine in Arizona which boasted Silver and Lead as its primary commodity along with a secondary amount of Copper, Gold, and other trace elements.
Research has revealed the most likely candidate as the ingot being from Arizona – more specifically, Price & Powell Florence Commercial General Store.
This bar is a genuine 19th century piece.
Florence, Arizona
Founded in 1866, Florence, Arizona is Rich in History and Infamy
Sitting on the Gila River, roughly 60 miles from the city of Phoenix, Arizona sits the Pinal County Seat town of Florence. Founded in 1866 when an American Civil War Colonel turned Indian Representative recognized the potential of the area due to its fordable crossing of the Gila River, Florence is one of the state’s oldest non-Native American settlements.
By the 1870s, silver was struck in the nearby Pinal Mountains (to the northeast near Superior) in 1875 which led to the formation of the Silver King Mine, which was once the richest silver mine operation in Arizona producing high-grade silver ore along with gold, copper, lead, and zinc. This claim was only 30 miles away from Florence.
Florence rapidly became the boom town due to the incredible amount of silver taken from the Silver King Mine. It brought both prosperity and trouble.
Florence’s growth also brought with it a few undesirable elements that infested nearly every old west town of the era; namely outlaws, gamblers, gunfighters, etc. In fact, one of the most infamous gunfights of the American Southwest occurred in Florence in 1888, but it was between two of the country’s former lawmen. Following is a great video talking about the historic gunfight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOWJT_haASo
Silver King Mine
The Silver King Mine was first discovered in 1873, at a time when conflicts with the Apache indians were frequent and few people dared prospecting or settling the area. General George Stoneman (later governor of California), setup a camp near the site of frequent Apache raids, and ordered the construction of a road into the Pinal Mountains.
Following a highly favorable assayer report, the four surviving partners divided ownership of the find equally. Initially the mine’s ore was shipped directly to San Francisco for processing. Shortly thereafter, a smelting operation was set up several miles from the mine along the Arnett Creek. A mining camp, which grew into Pinal City, quickly formed at the processing site.
Pictured above are ore wagons from the Silver King mine at the Pinal mills, circa 1885.
The Silver King Mine located near Superior, Arizona is and was the richest silver mine in Arizona. It produced an estimated US $42 million worth of silver ore in the late 1800s.
The mine closed in 1889 so the timing certainly fits. More research is needed.
Secondary Possibilities
Since we aren’t entirely certain of the origin of this bar, we leave it as an exercise to the reader to perform additional research and potentially locate some more clues.
Some other candidates worthy of honorable mention include the following company names and locations:
- Florence Mill – North Oklahoma (est 1846)
- Florence Commercial Bank – Massachusetts (est 1872)
- Commercial Bank of Florence – Wisconsin (est 1880)
- Florence Gold and Silver Mining Company – Dakota Territory (est 1885)
- Florence Silver Mine – Neihart, Montana (discovered 1886, first production 1893)