Description
The Mollie Gibson Consolidated Mining and Milling Company — Aspen, Colorado, 1893
An original, uncancelled stock certificate (#4604) from one of the most storied silver claims in Aspen mining history — the Mollie Gibson Mine, located on the west side of Smuggler Mountain in the heart of the Aspen Silver Mining District.
Issued: May 6, 1893
Shares: 50
Condition: Near fine, with usual folds
Printed by: American Bank Note Company, New York
Signed by: Richard J. Bolles, President
Story Behind the Certificate
The Mollie Gibson claim was originally staked by prospector John Adair, who named it in honor of his sister, Mollie, wife of Judge C. M. Gibson of Pueblo. Boundary disputes with the adjoining Lone Pine and Sequoit claims led to years of costly litigation — a common hazard in Aspen’s fiercely contested silver district.
The mine’s fortunes changed dramatically once Henry B. Gillespie became involved, and again when David M. Hyman and Charles A. Hallam began developing the neighboring Smuggler Mine, drawing renewed interest to the Mollie Gibson property. Under the influence of the Jerome B. Wheeler mining syndicate, the Mollie Gibson went on to become one of the district’s most productive silver producers — output that helped make Aspen, for a brief shining moment in 1893, the third-largest city in Colorado.
This certificate dates from just months before the Silver Panic of 1893 upended the entire industry — making it a tangible artifact of Aspen’s boom at its absolute peak, on the very eve of the bust.
A Piece of Aspen & Colorado History
Ideal for collectors of:
- Aspen, Colorado mining history and scripophily
- Colorado silver mining stock certificates
- American Bank Note Company engraved securities
- 19th-century Western mining ephemera
COLORADO ARTIFACTUAL — Rare Books, Antique Maps, Vintage Photographs & Historic Colorado Artifacts
