Heritage World Coin Auctions
Dallas Signature US Coin Sale 1253 4-6 Apr 2017
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Ingots
1931 New York Assay Office Gold Ingot. 20.33 Ounces. The New York Assay Office was opened in 1854. It is not a coincidence that 1854 was also the same year the mint opened in San Francisco. While it is difficult to imagine today, after gold was discovered in northern California in 1848 there was so much of the yellow metal extracted in the years following that a mint needed to be established in San Francisco and an assay office needed to be opened in New York. The thought behind opening the New York Assay Office was that it would relieve the pressure on the Philadelphia Mint and prepare the bullion for coinage. This was all the result of the massive influx of gold received in New York from the West Coast.
A large-scale audit was conducted of the New York Assay Office in 1910. Typewritten books of that audit are known, but very rare, and are extensively illustrated with photographs. A number of the photographs of the various work areas include a rocking chair. The auditor invariably would caption the photo "Work Area With Rocking Chair" or "Storage Area With Rocking Chair." The inference being there were some significant amounts of time in the Assay Office when work was not being done. However, the New York Assay Office stayed open until 1982.
This particular ingot has a firm, round imprint of the Assay Office and is dated 1931. Below that is FINE / 999.8. The ingot number 24546 is on the top (short) side. The weight is located on the right (long) side and is expressed as OZS 20.33. The value is imprinted on the left (long) side as $420.17. The melt number 17 is on the bottom (short) side. The back side of ingots always show a depressed area from the casting process. On this piece, it is depressed and cracked with a flaked appearance which gives the ingot visual appeal even on the back side. Bright yellow-gold color overall, as one would expect from an ingot of such high purity.
Ex: ANA Signature (Heritage, 7-8/2008), lot 2173, where it brought $20,700.
HID02901242017
1931 New York Assay Office Gold Ingot. 20.33 Ounces. The New York Assay Office was opened in 1854. It is not a coincidence that 1854 was also the same year the mint opened in San Francisco. While it is difficult to imagine today, after gold was discovered in northern California in 1848 there was so much of the yellow metal extracted in the years following that a mint needed to be established in San Francisco and an assay office needed to be opened in New York. The thought behind opening the New York Assay Office was that it would relieve the pressure on the Philadelphia Mint and prepare the bullion for coinage. This was all the result of the massive influx of gold received in New York from the West Coast.
A large-scale audit was conducted of the New York Assay Office in 1910. Typewritten books of that audit are known, but very rare, and are extensively illustrated with photographs. A number of the photographs of the various work areas include a rocking chair. The auditor invariably would caption the photo "Work Area With Rocking Chair" or "Storage Area With Rocking Chair." The inference being there were some significant amounts of time in the Assay Office when work was not being done. However, the New York Assay Office stayed open until 1982.
This particular ingot has a firm, round imprint of the Assay Office and is dated 1931. Below that is FINE / 999.8. The ingot number 24546 is on the top (short) side. The weight is located on the right (long) side and is expressed as OZS 20.33. The value is imprinted on the left (long) side as $420.17. The melt number 17 is on the bottom (short) side. The back side of ingots always show a depressed area from the casting process. On this piece, it is depressed and cracked with a flaked appearance which gives the ingot visual appeal even on the back side. Bright yellow-gold color overall, as one would expect from an ingot of such high purity.
Ex: ANA Signature (Heritage, 7-8/2008), lot 2173, where it brought $20,700.
HID02901242017