Beautifully engraved certificate from the Orphan Bell Mining and Milling Co. issued in 1897. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette of men working in mines, and a cherub holding a bell on the seal. This item is hand signed by the Company's President, T.S. Hunter and Secretary, D.H. Imler and is over 108 years old.
Certificate Vignette Founder and first president A.D. Jones was a drug store clerk. He and his boss J.K. Miller staked a claim on Bull Hill. Jones, not being a miner, just threw his hat in the air and started digging where it came down. He hit a vein assaying $600- worth of gold to the ton, and became a millionaire by the time he was 39. [Ref: Hills, 1900, pg. 368/ Sprague, 1953, various pages]