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Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot. 866.19 Ounces....

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Sold on Jan 14, 2022 for:
$2,160,000.00 Bid Source: Internet bidder
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Description

Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot, 866.19 Ounces
The Largest J&H Ingot Recovered
The Largest S.S. Central America Ingot Ever Offered at Auction

Justh & Hunter Gold Ingot. 866.19 Ounces. CABG-310. Emanuel Justh was a lithographer in Verboca, Hungary. He emigrated to San Francisco from Hamburg, Germany, making the trip in 159 days with only one stop in Valparaiso, Chile. Justh established a lithography business in San Francisco and continued in that line of work throughout 1854. In the early months of that year he learned the assaying business and was in the employ of the U.S. Branch Mint. Merely one year later, in May 1855, Justh established an assaying partnership with Solomon Hillen Hunter. Justh's departure from the branch mint was apparently an amicable one since the new assaying partnership received the recommendation of U.S. Assayer, Agoston Haraszthy (a fellow Hungarian émigré), and branch mint Superintendent Louis Birdsall. These two mint officials heartily endorsed Justh's relatively newfound abilities, stating " ... we take pleasure in recommending him to the Public, as a competent and faithful Assayer."

Solomon Hunter came to San Francisco from Maryland, where he had been in the shipping trade in Baltimore. In a curious twist of fate, he arrived in California on the S.S. George Law. That ship was later renamed (but not sufficiently refurbished) as the S.S. Central America, which, of course, was eventually responsible for bringing the importance of his firm to the attention of the numismatic community about 130 years later. Events moved quickly for the partnership and by May 1856 Justh & Hunter had opened a branch assay office in Marysville, significantly closer to the gold fields. The men promised a 12-hour turnaround on ore they assayed in that office. The firm of Justh & Hunter remained an important California assayer until the two principals dissolved their partnership in July 1858.

The first recovery operations of the S.S. Central America yielded 85 Justh & Hunter gold ingots. Another seven pieces were recovered in 2014. Those totals alone, second only to the firm of Kellogg & Humbert among SSCA recoveries, suggest the extent to which the Emil Justh and Solomon Hillen Hunter were respected as assayers and refiners in San Francisco and the surrounding areas during the mid-1850s.

Justh ingots ranged from small to enormous. The smallest was 5.24 ounces, while the largest is this one from the San Francisco office weighing in at a mighty 866.19 ounces. This massive ingot is second only in weight to the "Eureka!" Kellogg & Humbert ingot, which weighs 933.94 ounces; making this Justh & Hunter ingot the largest from that assaying office known in the world, and it is also the largest ingot ever offered at public auction. To put in perspective the contemporary value of this ingot, consider that in 1857, in New York City, the average pay for a carpenter was $1.79 per day. The 19th century work week was six days, so our average carpenter made $10.74 per week. At the stated value on this ingot of $15,971.93, this single ingot could pay the weekly wages of 1,487 carpenters. It is little wonder that the loss of the S.S. Central America shook the financial markets in New York and was a contributing factor to the Panic of 1857.

This ingot is neatly laid out. The top side reads: NO. 4221 / curved Justh & Hunter hallmark / 866.19 OZS 892 FINE. / $15971.93. The surfaces show occasional patches of reddish patina on each side. The ingot was poured into Mold J&Hsf-15, which translates to 87 mm x 283 mm.

Auction Info

2022 January 12 - 16 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction - Orlando FUN #1341 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
January, 2022
12th-16th Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 55
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 15,347

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.

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Sold on Jan 14, 2022 for: $2,160,000.00
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