Thursday, April 9, 2015

Silver Coins Traced to Specific Mines in Colorado

By Tiffany Amber Stockton



Last month, I shared about the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs and the wealth of resources available for research. This month, it's a discovery of what mining was like during the mid-1800s.


Living in Colorado, I'm surrounded by so much history from the "old west," and it's difficult to know where to focus my research efforts for my books. Sometimes, I feel like a goldfish with a 5-second memory or a little baby with a 2-minute attention span. :) So many amazing things, so little time, and far too many books to write.

One series I have, though, focuses on a family of siblings whose parents have died and left them a ranch in southwestern Colorado. They owned a silver mine though before the ranch, and although they no longer run it, they are still taking profits from it. The first book features a newspaper reporter who travels from Chicago to investigate some unique coins that originated from their mine.

When I researched the background, I realized that individual mines would often press distinct markings into the silver mined from their claims. This fascinated me, as I always thought the metal was mined then sold to the mints to be turned into money. But it seems this wasn't the case when silver was first discovered.

Silver mining in Colorado has taken place since the 1860s. In the past, Colorado called itself the Silver state. Nevada also calls itself the Silver state; in reality, the US state which has produced the most silver is Idaho. Of course, since Colorado became a state in 1876, it became the Centennial State. :) That's around the setting for my books too, so although silver plays a part, it isn't the driving force.

In fact, the ranch is the primary focus. What keeps things entertaining is the 3-some cast of characters who worked for the Wilde family at the mine and now work at the ranch. Boomer, Shorty and Molly. They provide comedic relief for the tensions throughout the book, but are also full of useful information when this reporter comes investigating.

At first, I thought having the family sell the mine, but then it wouldn't have worked with the plot, as they'd have no claim to the contents in the mine and no rights to investigate or give permission to the reporter to take a closer look into things. So, I had to shift my focus a little and do more research into the silver mines in the area.

Who knows? Perhaps another series will focus on the mining industry instead of it being a sidestory. There is certainly more than enough information out there and enough fascinating characters from history I could use as inspiration.

By far, the largest largest silver-producing district in Colorado is Leadville, and it wasn't discovered until 1874. Cumulative production through 1963 was 240 million troy ounces of silver, 3 million troy ounces of gold, 987 million tons of lead, 712 million tons of zinc, and 48 million tons of copper. I caution you if you want to go looking there, though, as it's located at over 9,000 feet above sea level, so the air is quite thin. That didn't seem to hurt the production numbers though.

Today, the largest current source of silver in Colorado is as a byproduct of gold mining at the Cripple Creek & Victor mine, a large open-pit heap leach operation owned by AngloGold Ashanti at Victor, Colorado. In 2006, the mine produced 4.0 tons (130,000 ounces) of silver. That's a LOT of silver! Just imagine how much work it would have taken for some of the original mines to produce that amount. Amazing to think how far we've come from the original strikes.

It's been a lot of fun doing the research. Now, I just need to sell the series, so I can see it in print and get paid for doing the research. :) Work is always far better when you can make money doing it!


* photo copyrights: http://www.myartprints.com, http://www.160knots.com, http://www.littletoncoin.com/



BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an award-winning author and speaker who has partnered with Nerium International in the anti-aging skin care industry, helping others look younger and live better.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Colorado. They have one girl and one boy, a Retriever mix named Roxie and and Australian cattle dog named Timber. She has sold seventeen (17) books so far and is represented by agent Sandra Bishop of the TransAtlantic Agency. You can also find her on FacebookTwitter, and Pinterest.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for your research, Amber. I have visited Leadville and it was fascinating! I hope you can sell this series as I would love to read it!

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  2. Very interesting! I'd read those books!

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  3. Hi Tiffany, this is so interesting. I, too, thought coins came from mints. Good luck with selling your series!

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  4. How interesting! Best of luck selling this series, Tiffany. I would love to read these historical stories!

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

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  5. My husband and I visited Cripple Creek and Silverton, CO last August. Those mining towns are very interesting and quaint. sm CA wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  6. My husband and I visited Cripple Creek and Silverton, CO last August. Those mining towns are very interesting and quaint. sm CA wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com

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