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/

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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 Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Four Corners, Four Tribes, Four States

By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Have you ever stood in one place and touched 3 different states? There are a lot of chances across the US to do that, and less than a handful of states which only touch 2 other states. But how about standing in one place and touching FOUR different states? An intersection. And that place is called the Four Corners Monument.

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

Last summer, a friend of mine came to visit, and we traveled to the southwest corner of Colorado, Durango to be specific. As part of that weekend blitz, we went a little further southwest and took in the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings. When I looked at a map of the area and realized we were only 30 miles from Four Corners--a place I had wanted to visit since childhood--I knew we had to go. It would mean not getting home until midnight or later at the end of our weekend, but we had to do it!

Monument in 1962

The Four Corners area is named after the point where the boundaries of four states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico--just think UCAN) meet, where the Four Corners Monument is located. It is the only location in the United States where four states meet. Most of the Four Corners region belongs to semi-autonomous Native American nations, the largest of which is the Navajo Nation, followed by Hopi, Ute, and Zuni tribal reserves and nations. It's mostly rural, rugged, and arid. In fact, while driving, it reminded me a lot of a desert. Not a desert like the Sahara with nothing but sand, but a mountainous desert with rock formations combined with sand.

Monument in 1992

The United States acquired the four corners region from Mexico after the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848. In 1863 Congress created Arizona Territory from the western part of New Mexico Territory. The boundary was defined as a line running due south from the southwest corner of Colorado Territory, which had been created in 1861. This was an unusual act of Congress, which almost always defined the boundaries of new territories as lines of latitude or longitude, or following rivers. By defining one boundary as starting at the corner of another, Congress ensured the eventual creation of four states meeting at a point.

Monument in 1989

When I researched photos of this monument, I was surprised to see it once sat in the middle of what seemed to be "nowhere" with nothing but open space around it. Over the past 150 years, this site has seen a lot of changes.

My feet touching 4 states

By 1899, the sandstone shaft marker placed by Chandler Robbins in 1875 had been disturbed and broken, so it was replaced with a new stone by two U.S. Surveyors, Hubert D. Page and James M. Lentz. In 1912, a simple cement pad was poured around the marker. The first modern Navajo government convened in 1923 in an effort to organize and regulate an increasing amount of oil exploration activities on Navajo lands, and they played a big role in the monument's further development.

Monument in 2013

In 1931, Everett H. Kimmell, another U.S. Surveyor, found this newer stone had broken too and he replaced it with a brass disc marker set in cement. In 1962, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs poured an elevated cement pad around the 1931 brass marker; this pad included the state border lines and names in tile. The monument was completely rebuilt in 1992, and the 1931 brass marker was replaced with a disc shaped aluminum-bronze plate set in granite. The monument was again rebuilt in 2010, although the disc shaped plate from 1992 remained in place.

Monument showing Navajo and Ute
selling booths at the perimeter

The monument I and my friend visited with the individual stone booths where the various Navajo and Ute Indians sell their hand-made items is obviously a lot newer than I at first thought. Prior to 2010, it seems those booths and those walls weren't there at all. Completely changes the landscape and appearance. It doesn't diminish the experience of touching four states at once, though. :) And I loved being able to shop genuine Navajo items without the middle man jacking up the price. This way, I knew my money was going straight to the craftsman or designer and it was a lot of fun chatting with them.

Finally, just for fun, here's an animated GIF image showing the progression of the 4 states from territories into the states we have today.

Now it's YOUR turn:

Have you ever been to Four Corners? When did you go? If not this monument, where else in the U.S. have you visited that is designated as a national monument or a national park? And what was your favorite part about your visit? Or what is your overall favorite place to visit?

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BIO
Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood. Today, she is an award-winning author and speaker who has partnered with Nerium International in the anti-aging 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, and an Aussie/retriever mix named Roxie. She has sold fourteen books so far and is represented by agent Sandra Bishop. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Six Degrees of Separation

by Linda Farmer Harris 

I’m fascinated by the theory of six degrees of separation. Frigyes Karinthy, a Hungarian author, is credited with originating the concept. 

 

Frigyes Karinthy

That’s the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world. The chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.

Karinthy published “Chain-Links” in a volume of short stories titled Everything is Different. Read Chain-Links at https://djjr-courses.wdfiles.com/local--files/soc180%3Akarinthy-chain-links/Karinthy-Chain-Links_1929.pdf. In 1929, he believed that the modern world was ‘shrinking’ due to the ever-increasing linkage between people.

Wow, what would he think of all the social networking and connectedness we experience now. Facebook alone is a marvelous example of finding those links.

A friend said she found relatives via Facebook by knowing the name of one person — a distant cousin. She matched names and relationships from that first person's "friends" list; visited the selected "friends" pages and checked out their "friends" and so on. She was able to find several generations of aunts, uncles, cousins — folks, when she contacted them, confirmed their relationship to her, but had no idea she existed. Tracing their genealogy wasn't part of their family's traditions.

I began to wonder if the six degrees of separation is true of people we research as we develop characters for our historical fiction.

Living amongst a web of small towns in southwest Colorado, it seems like everyone is related to everyone else. The historical linkages are exciting to follow. Two of my Colorado writer friends are sisters in the Nossaman family.

Welch Nossaman

In the 1930's, Welch Nossaman recorded his adventures and his early encounters with the Ute leader Colorow Ignatio and his band. Nossaman built his first log cabin in 1876 in Pagosa Springs and Ignatio burned it down. Each year Nossaman would build and Ignatio would burn it down. It all started when Nossaman refused to share his provisions with Ignatio. Known to the pioneers as Colorow, he was born a Comanche, but raised by White River Utes in northwestern Colorado after being captured as a child.

Another Colorado writer friend is part of the Slade clan. While doing a little research for a New Mexico writer friend about stagecoaches and the pony express that traveled through northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado, I found Joseph A. "Jack" Slade. 

Joseph A. "Jack" Slade

Slade became a stage driver of the Central Overland stage line  through some of the most lawless and dangerous stretches of the route in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. He supervised the construction, livestock acquisition, and hiring of drivers for the almost 200 relay stations for the Pony Express. 

In 1861, Slade hired 15 year old Buffalo Bill Cody as a driver. My husband has a family connection to Wyatt Earp, who knew Cody. Hm-m.

I've thought about the six degrees of separation that have occurred over my lifetime. 

For example: a Colorado writer friend has a favorite content reader in Illinois (I don't know her); Illinois has a daughter in Texas (I do know her, but didn't know the connection until recently; Texas has a favorite author in Alabama, who I made a point to meet at a national writers conference because my Texas friend admired her so much; Alabama, who wrote under a pen name, turned out to be related to me by marriage through my niece. Alabama was her mother-in-law. That was a delightful and surprising connection.

You may have heard about the parlor game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" where players are challenged to find the shortest path between an arbitrary actor and Kevin Bacon. Created in 1994 by three Albright College students, it assumes that anyone in the Hollywood film industry can be linked through his/her film role to Bacon within six steps.

I don't have any "world famous" connections, but in my small sphere of influence there have been some amazing linkages over the years.

Have you had six degrees of separation moments in your life? I'd love to hear about them.

Blessings,


Lin writes historical fiction for adults and children.  Her young adult historical series The Butcher Boys Chronicles is set in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Book One: Escape From Outlaw Ridge features 14 year old Malachi Westin, whose very life depends on who he knows and his own six degrees of separation.

Lin's enjoyment of genealogy and family history adds unique elements to her stories. One day she plans to write down all of the "separations" she can remember over the years. She and her husband, Jerry, live on a hay and cattle ranch in Chimney Rock, Colorado.