Lot 2561 : Parsons Gold Ingot

Parsons Gold Ingot: "Parsons & Co. / Assayers/ Col. - 1860/ Twenty Dolls// CARAT DWT/ 18 1/2 25 6/10" rectangular, 1.2 x 0.75".1.26 Troy Ozs.About twenty years ago, we published an article in Coin World "Ingots: The Good Bad and the Ugly". In this article wediscussed finding four of these in our research of collections around the country, including one at the Smithsonian. I call these "the originalfour". We were able to run some tests on two of them as I recall, but at the time I never had a sample of placer gold from the historical sourceof where Parsons reportedly mined, which I would have used in comparative analogy. Other advanced technology was in its infancy.

This ingot came out of an old Colorado collection, but like the others, the ultimate provenance is completely unknown. Over the years, we werelucky and found an original map showing the locations of where Parsons worked, as shown on a previously unknown 1865 map of the district. Today,I'd love to go to the spot, get the gold myself, and make comparative tests with both ICP and SEM/EDS. But this is an academic pursuit of whichfunding would need to be secured, and life moves on....

Today, this ingot has been presented to us to sell, and for me to openly discuss my thoughts. During the course of research years ago, I found an1880 reference to Parsons and his ingots, but no specifics were ever mentioned. I plowed through days of early Colorado newspapers looking fortidbits, but came up mostly empty. This I expected, because Parsons was in a very remote area far outside of the reporting area of the Denvernewspaper in 1860. The big question is this: are all four ingots fakes?, or is one of the four an original, from which the others were copied? and ifso, which one is real?

Two of the original four are in museums and their donation or purchase data shows acquisition after 1960, as I recall. There is no provenance onany of them, which makes it more difficult. But this is actually the norm- Historical ingots came out of the woodwork when Ford and Franklin workedthe West in the 1970's. After the Gold Reserve Act was repealed in 1975, precious metal items came out like water, especially after gold andsilver prices rose to new heights. People needed money, and out came their old gold and silver items, sold into the bullion market.

Many legitimate great pieces were "discovered". Then came the SSCA, which clearly showed the cultural influence on marking ingots overtime, which helped all understand the assayer markings system better. One of my all-time favorites was getting a silver Knight assay ingot(Marysville) right from the family who had used it as a paperweight. I have little doubt that at least two of the "original four" Parsonsingots are fake. I have a very high confidence that the other two may be fake as well, based on comparative analogy of other known originalingots.

But it must be remembered that Parsons was not part of the California or eastern assay business, and he therefore had no prior knowledge of howassayers customarily marked their ingots. We also know, absolutely, that parts of the assayer business in Colorado developed differently from that inCalifornia and Nevada. This makes sense, because there was little or no crossover in assayers until the Denver Mint began their work. By the way,please don't forget that there is a real 1865 gold ingot from the Denver Mint at the Colorado Historical Society, complete with provenance to1929, and I believe we closed the gap all the way back to 1865 with newspaper research. That ingot is marked in the "standard" manner,though the marking methods were dictated by the Mint system.

Can we prove absolutely that all four are fakes? No. Can we prove absolutely that one of the four is real? Someday, perhaps. The technologyabsolutely exists today to allow for detailed analysis that would help render an opinion, much of which I and we do all the time for unpublishedproject work. But it takes a budget.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Parsons Gold Ingot, One of the"Original Four" (108011)(https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Parsons-Gold-Ingot-One-of-the-Original-Four-108011_i33667968)

Lot 2571 : Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia Medal

Formed in 1857, the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia (NAS) was a non-profit organization "dedicated to the encouragement andpromotion of numismatic science and antiquarian research." Important members of the organization included William S. Vaux, Joseph J. Mickley, HenryP. McIlhenny, Dr. D. G. Brinton and Eli Kirk Price. Meetings were often held in the homes of members, where coins and medals were displayed andpapers on a variety of subjects, including the transition from wooden sailing vessels to steel steamships, the collections of the Union League,Chinese export porcelain, and paper making at Ivy Mills, were read. This bronze medal is 41 mm, featuring Eli K. Price, President on the obverse; andthe society's seal on the reverse. Salvatore Falcone Collection

To read the complete lot description, see:
Numismatic andAntiquarian Society of Philadelphia Medal (108121)(https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Numismatic-and-Antiquarian-Society-of-Philadelphia-Medal-108121_i33667978)

Lot 3637: Argenta Stock Certificate

Wow! Mines located at & near Argenta, Mont. (printed under title). Inc. in Montana. No. 99, issued for 40 shares to Wonnenberg & Avis onFed. 17th, 1890 in Dillon, Montana. Signed by president Alex. Allen and secretary Howes. Not cancelled. Very attractive design with black print, pinkborder and background, mining vignette, and five gold foil vignettes of US gold coins! Printed by Pioneer Press, St. Paul. Pinholes, folds. 6.25 x9.25" The Argenta Mining District was located in Beaverhead County. This company appears to have been in a lawsuit with the PJ Kelly Placer& Quartz Mining & Reduction Company about disputes of property. Ken Prag Collection

Date: 1890
State/Country: Montana
City/County: Argenta

To read the complete lot description, see:
Argenta Gold & SilverMining Co. Stock Certificate (104418)(https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Argenta-Gold-Silver-Mining-Co-Stock-Certificate-104418_i33668717)

Lot 6049 : Space Medals

Lot of five: Apollo 11 Mission (copper); Space Shuttle 1981; Seattle World's Fair 1962 (2); City of Downey, Home of Apollo "farm site tomoon site".

To read the complete lot description, see:
Space Medals (75143)(https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Space-Medals-75143_i33670786)

Lot 6180 : Southern Pacific Railroad Medal

Obv.: Southern Pacific / Lines in Oregon / Company; rev.: For / Best / Section. White metal, 27 mm, with loop.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Southern Pacific Railroad Medal(105241) (https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Southern-Pacific-Railroad-Medal-105241_i33670917)