The Selby Smelting Company was organized in 1865 by Thomas H. Selby and Peter Naylor of New York. The lead produced here was used at the Selby Shot Tower in San Francisco. In 1879 the company purchased the property and business of the Pacific Refinery and Bullion Exchange. They refined gold, silver, and lead, and became the only private refinery on the west coast.
The Selby Smelting Works was located on the bay between Crockett and Rodeo. The smelter did a brisk business at the turn of the century converting gold ore — much of it from the Yukon — to bullion. It was once the largest gold, silver and lead refiner on the West Coast.
Selby took over the Pacific Refinery & Bullion Exchange business in 1879, which had been owned by the Bonanza Kings (Fair, Flood, and O’Brien) and run by Kellogg & Hewston. This business had succeeded the Kellogg & Humbert operation.
From Tormeyclan.com:
“In 1884, under the direction of Prentiss Selby, the Selby Smelting and Refining Co. (often referred to as the Selby Smelting Works, or simply Selby Works) decided to move their huge refining operations from San Francisco to Contra Costa County. The Selby Works (the largest gold, silver and lead refining firm in the Western U.S.) had long been a cornerstone of San Francisco industry. Their growing success, however, also made them an increasingly bad neighbor in the city [due to emissions from the smokestacks].”
ASARCO purchased the Selby Smelting and Refining Company in 1905 and operated it for the next 67 years, closing it down in 1971.
30.35 oz Selby Gold & Silver Refinery – Mixed Metal Ingot; No 2710
In April 2024 a new discovery ingot surfaced from Maine – it had been found in an estate at the bottom of a box of smoking pipes. It was in a paper bag labeled “antique print block”. This was no print block! Apparently the original owner wasn’t aware of the rich history of the Selby Refinery or the purpose of this mixed metal Assay ingot. The bar has very low gold and silver content, namely Gold 001 Fine, and Silver 014 Fine.
A likely product of non-local ore imported to the refinery for Assay. Unclear as to the date of issue. Monetized at Gold $0.62, Silver $0.54 – this places the silver value at $1.27. The time period that coincides with this value for silver is around 1875, 1885, or 1920. Perhaps the 1920 date is a better candidate as the serial numbers post-date the published report of stolen serials in 1901 heist and the company wasn’t known by the ‘Selby Gold and Silver Refinery’ name officially. Some references are seen to this company after the Asarco acquisition in 1905.
Other contents of the ingot are likely to consist of a high degree of copper and some lead.