Specie Paying Gold and Silver Mining Company stock certificate circa 1881

Nice vignette of the Arizona desert with mountains and cactus plants.  Smaller certificate measuring 4.5" by 9".  Unissued and not cancelled. Dated 188_. Circa 1881 from company records.

Incorporated 1881 in La Porte Indiana, the company operated gold and silver mines in the Pinal County of Arizona.  The company was a very successful silver producer. The Specie Pay and Alice Claims were located in the Mineral Creek District, 15 miles from Florence.

Specie refers to the payment in coin instead of paper money.  Coins were considered safer payment and less apt to be counterfeited.