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Gold Ingots
Blake & Co.
$102.03 Gold Ingot
Blake & Co., Sacramento. Gold ingot. · No. 5217. · $102.03 · 851 Fine. · 5.80 Ounces. (CAGB-020).
Details
Blake & Co., Sacramento. Gold ingot. · No. 5217. · $102.03 · 851 Fine. · 5.80 Ounces. (CAGB-020).
40 mm. x 21 mm. x 13 mm. Very attractive light greenish gold with a few very minor imperfections.
The face is inscribed .851 FINE and $102.03. Front edge is inscribed, inverted, BLAKE & with CO. on the left edge. The back edge has the weight 5.80 OZ., also inverted. The serial number, NO. 5217, is on the right edge, which also has a corner trimmed for assay. Net gold weight 4.94 ounces with a value of $20.67 per ounce (the Mint standard for pure gold), the same calculated value standard for gold ingots in the present sale.
This is the second smallest of the Blake & Co. ingots from the S.S. Central America treasure-a compact size that is ideal for display.
Gold Ingots in the Sale
Regarding gold ingots in general, the present sale brings to market more Gold Rush gold ingots by weight and count than all other rare coin or fine arts auctions combined, held before the finding of the S.S. Central America treasure.
The historian, numismatist, and connoisseur is afforded the opportunity to acquire a single gold ingot for display, or to acquire an example from one each of the five assayers represented in the treasure. At present, not a single museum in the world has an example of each of these five ingots!
40 mm. x 21 mm. x 13 mm. Very attractive light greenish gold with a few very minor imperfections.
The face is inscribed .851 FINE and $102.03. Front edge is inscribed, inverted, BLAKE & with CO. on the left edge. The back edge has the weight 5.80 OZ., also inverted. The serial number, NO. 5217, is on the right edge, which also has a corner trimmed for assay. Net gold weight 4.94 ounces with a value of $20.67 per ounce (the Mint standard for pure gold), the same calculated value standard for gold ingots in the present sale.
This is the second smallest of the Blake & Co. ingots from the S.S. Central America treasure-a compact size that is ideal for display.
Gold Ingots in the Sale
Regarding gold ingots in general, the present sale brings to market more Gold Rush gold ingots by weight and count than all other rare coin or fine arts auctions combined, held before the finding of the S.S. Central America treasure.
The historian, numismatist, and connoisseur is afforded the opportunity to acquire a single gold ingot for display, or to acquire an example from one each of the five assayers represented in the treasure. At present, not a single museum in the world has an example of each of these five ingots!
Further details
History of Blake & Co.Sacramento The partnership of Blake & Agrell, refiners and assayers, was the second assay office to be established in Sacramento (following Marchand, Harris & Co.) and was located near 52 J Street, between Second and Third streets. Research by Dan Owens, published in An Encyclopedia of California Coiners and Assayers Related to Numismatics, 1849-1863, has brought to light the details of this and other firms. Blake & Agrell, founded before November 12, 1855 (when it purchased its first advertising in the Sacramento Union) was dissolved on December 27. The next day, on December 28 1855, Gorham Blake, a former superintendent of a Vermont iron mine and at the age of 26 an experienced assayer, founded Blake & Co. He had arrived in San Francisco aboard the Constitution on May 22, 1852 and, once in California, soon gained employment as an express agent for the Placerville office of Adams & Co. and later for Wells, Fargo & Co. as a buyer of raw gold. In October 1853, he became an assayer. As a part of Blake and Agrell, he assayed between 19,000 to 20,000 ounces of gold in six weeks and became known for his assurances to pay the difference between his own assays and those of the San Francisco Mint. This success and reputation translated well for his new enterprise, as in the year ending December 31, 1856 Blake & Co. assayed 200,000 ounces of gold and became one of the primary assayers in that district of California. In the employ of Blake & Co. were David Lundbom, an assayer previously affiliated with the U.S. Assay Office and Kellogg & Co., and William R. Waters, a founding partner who left to become a jeweler before returning to the firm in November 1856. Beyond Blake & Co. the Blake family has a rich history of assaying and involvement with precious metals in the American West. The aforementioned Owens text includes much information in this regard.