South Dakota Mining Stock Certificates

1886 BOX ELDER SILVER MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Dakota - Very rare Dakota Territory certificate. It was such an obscure company that I have yet to find any real information about it. Lead City, Dakota is printed on the date line. Stock# 29. There is a pickax and shovel in the center of the company seal. Appears to be issued to P. O Grady. I do know that there is a town in South Dakota named Box Elder and a creek with the same name. Price - $220 SOLD

1904 HIDDEN FORTUNE GOLD MINING COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1901) Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - Mines at Lead City.
$100 bond payable in gold coin of the United States. The company seal is punched into the lower-left corner. Signed by Henry J. Mayham as president and George D. Begole as company secretary. A number of $3 payment coupons are still attached to the right side. This document is large and did not fit entirely on my scanner.

The Hidden Fortune discovery was made by a German man by the name of Otto P. Grantz. Claims included the Durango, Harrison, Sula, Grant Reddy, Golden Crown, St. Patrick and Swamp Eagle all located around the town of Lead. The gold ore was shipped by rail (Burlington & Northwestern Railroads) to a large mill built on the east side of Whitewood Creek a mile or two north of Deadwood.

This would make a great display piece - Real Black Hills mining history!
Price - $75.00

1902 THE BLACK HILLS ANACONDA MINING AND MILLING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - I found a reference that places this mine at Hill City, South Dakota. A 1905 publication stated that there was $1,500,000 in ore exposed, in an attempt to attract potential investors. Likely a gold mine. Price - $69.00

1907 THE GOLDEN CREST MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - $1,000 bond payable in gold coin of the United States. The picture appears to be a copy of an actual photograph of the mine buildings - if you look really close you can see the company name on the center building. The Golden Crest MC corporate seal is clearly punched into the bottom of the document. Also notice another very large seal punched above - This unique seal says UNION TRUST COMPANY, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. This is apparently the company that managed the funds for the Golden Crest. Attached to the top of this bond are a number of $35 payment coupons (not shown). Mine office at Deadwood, South Dakota.

The Golden Crest MC owned 256 acres of ground on the divide between Two Bit Gulch and Strawberry Gulch, 3 miles from Galena, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The ore was processed in a ten stamp cyanide mill. Signed by Robert L. Bailie as president and F. M. Strout as secretary. Price - $165

1890 ALBE MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Dakota - Rare Black Hills certificate. A beautiful little vignette shows an early ore processing operation in the Black Hills. This was most-likely a gold mine. The company seal and dateline both say Deadwood. Hand-signed by Albe Holmes as president. Also notable is the secretaries signature - Laughlin was also a well-known mining man during this era.

Albe Holmes, along with 10 other men, arrived in the Black Hills on a stage coach. This was only the second stage coach to venture into the hills. They did encounter a large group of Indians, but were not attacked. Mr. Holmes started the first Express Line between Gayville and Deadwood. While researching this company I stumbled across an old photograph of a group of Black Hills cowboys including Albe Holmes and Seth Bullock, so I'm guessing they knew each other. Due to copyright issues, I cannot post the photo here, but the following link with take you there:

ALBE HOLMES - SETH BULLOCK PHOTO

Price - $350

1936 ANACONDA MINING AND MILLING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - Issued to L. V. Morford. Signed by E. M. Patterson as company secretary. The bottom of the corporate seal reads: DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA. Price - $29.00

1886 THE GENERAL CROOK SILVER MINING COMPANY - Dakota Territory - Rare certificate likely named after General Crook, who with the U.S. Cavalry fought Indians in the Black Hills during the 1870s. Bright, shiny silver company seal punched into the lower-left. Low stock #14. Offices at Deadwood. Signed by Robert W. Cooper as president. Price - $350

1903 THE OLDEN TIME MILLING COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1902) Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - Issued for 1 share worth $100. I'm guessing this was an ore milling operation. The presidents signature appears to read Charles Bates and William C. Brown as secretary It has the brightest red company seal that I have ever seen! Price - $60.00

1903 GALENA RIDGE MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of South Dakota - Company offices at Lead, South Dakota. What a great piece of Black Hills history - all three people who signed this certificate had connections to the Homestake Mining Company. J. W. Freeman was superintendent of the hospital department at the Homestake, T. J. Grier was another superintendent at the Homestake. T. J. Grier was also president of the First National Bank (Lead), and president of the Hearst Mercantile Company, and president of the Black Hills Canal & Water Company (Quite a busy guy!) Chambers Kellar was a long-time Homestake attorney. Price - $85.00

1890s BLACK HILLS PROSPECTING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of South Dakota - Certificate #1. Issued to J. J. Davenport of Sturgis for 10 shares worth $10 each. (Only 500 shares were offered) I did some searching and found that J. J. Davenport was president of the Sturgis Water Works Company. It was also signed by the company president but a more specific date was not filled in. Very scarce!
Price - $90.00 SOLD

1930 MOUNTAIN FLOWER MINING COMPANY - Incorporated (in October of 1929) Under the Laws of South Dakota - What a nice name for a mining company! Issued to Joseph Disler. Picture shows two miners loading an ore cart in a tunnel.
Price - $39.00

1888 THE GATE CITY MINING COMPANY of RAPID CITY, PENNINGTON COUNTY, DAKOTA TERRITORY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Dakota - BLACK HILLS - Stock # 28 - Rare certificate. In fact, it is the first I have seen from this company and I have been selling Black Hills stocks for a long time. This must have been an obscure Dakota company because I could find no information about it anywhere. Issued to A. P. Sterling. I did recognize one of the signatures - O. L. Cooper was an early Black Hills attorney. The company president was Charles W. Bryden. Picture shows a covered wagon, prospectors, and a stream running through the mountains. "ORO Y PLATA" is printed inside the circle. Back in the early days, Rapid City was also known as the "Gate City" of the Black Hills. Price - $225