Orphan Bell Mining and Milling Company stock certificate 1896 (Cripple Creek Colorado)

Cripple Creek CO gold mining company. Great underground mining and miner vignette. Unique company seal of a cherub ringing a bell in gold. Vertical folds from mailing. Issued and cancelled. Dated 1896. Measures approximately 10 x 8 inches.

The Orphan Bell Mining and Milling Company was a late 19th-century gold mining operation based in the famous Cripple Creek mining district of Teller County, Colorado. Established in Colorado in the early 1890s, the company was part of the district gold rush era.

Historical Significance:   
The company gained notable attention at the turn of the 20th century. Most famously, it filed a major $1,255,000 damages lawsuit against the Isabella Gold Mining Company regarding wrongfully extracted gold ore.

Deed transfer activity:
In 1901, Empire State Gold Mining Company, owned by the Orphan Gold and the Arrow Gold Mining Company, has been transferred to this company, and consists of the Ida Bell and the Ida Bell No. 1 lodes and the Orphan and Orphan No. 1 lodes, situated on Bull Hill, adjoining the Isabella. This property originally belonged to the Orphan Bell Mining and Milling Company and was sold earlier to an eastern syndicate. For some time, litigation was in progress in which the old Orphan Bell Company claimed the right to be allowed to buy back the property. The Empire State Gold Mining Company was organized and the largest stockholders in the Orphan Bell Company furnished the money to buy back the property.

Product descriptions and images
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