We are still trying to confirm if this bar came from that mine, and so far we have only found one small reference to such a mine by that name in Nevada, so if anybody can dig up anything else please let us know.
The friend who owns the bar said one of his concerns is that it had a lot of work put into it other than just pouring out an ingot as was typical at a mine's refinery or in such a small town perhaps processing them. I told him that the possibility is that maybe that date is when they struck a huge vein of silver, so the mine owner wanted to make up a special one to celebrate that and sent it to a silver smith to pretty it up. My friend (the one with the bar) said for some reason he suspects it was a dinner placement for say a wedding party or something. So then I threw this one at him...Maybe it was a dinner placement setting, but for the mine investors having a dinner to celebrate some big vein they struck when they all knew they were going to be very rich men.
Any of those things mine related would seem to mean big money. If it was just for a wedding party, I wouldn't think it would be worth nearly as much (but at least something), unless the family getting married had historical significance. That's why we are all hoping in turns out to be an ingot from that mine my one friend located a small reference to, and was dolled up for some special reason concerning the mine. My friend with the ingot does have some knowledge of working with rare metals, and said that he knows this much so far- the ingot was ordered or made by somebody with money, because that kind of hand engraving and that much silver didn't come cheap in that day and age.
So the mystery continues, with a few possible leads that mean it *might* be worth a big chunk of change. Coins, for instance, aren't always valuable due to some historical significance, but rather the rarity of the coin in the number of known existing ones available. If this bar is naming a mine it represents, then that might mean very good things as to it's value, because we thus far can find no silver bar examples on the net with that mine's name attached to it.
Nevada was historical in it's importance to silver mining and has a rich history to that. So even if this came from a small obscure little mine as part of that whole experience of silver loads in Nevada, it could still be worth a very pretty penny due to the rarity of it. Like getting a 1916 mercury dime versus one with a "D" mint mark. There are other dimes of that year, but only one with the rarest mint production. I would figure it would be the same thing with silver ingots mined during the glory days of wild west hero's and silver/gold production. The more rare existing known examples of various ingots from different mines, perhaps the more money they may be worth?
More updates as they come, and if anybody has motivation to pursue this mystery further, feel free to have at it and post anything you can find. As we all know, depending on how you creatively word search terms, where you look, and how you look, the net isn't always easy giving up it's information. So far one friend has only been able to find one small reference to a mine by that name in Nevada. Thanks again...
Best I can do...