United States Silver Mining Company of Denver City $1000 Gold Bond (1910) — Rare High-Denomination Issue

A Scarce Silver-Mining Gold Bond with a Big Legal Story

Step back into the Colorado mining era with this United States Silver Mining Company of Denver City $1000 Gold Bond, issued in 1910. High-denomination, gold-interest bonds were seldom issued by mining companies—making surviving examples like this one especially uncommon and highly collectible.

About the Company (Denver City, Before Statehood)

The United States Silver Mining Company of Denver City, Colorado was an early mining venture organized around 1870, during the Colorado Territorial period—before Colorado became a state in 1876. While it wasn’t a later “boom” powerhouse like the biggest Colorado silver producers, it has a fascinating place in American financial and legal history.

Why Collectors Want It: Bonds, Design, and Supreme Court Legacy

1) Territorial Era Capital Raising

The company is best known for issuing high-denomination, 7% gold interest bonds to attract investors eager to profit from the Rocky Mountain mining landscape. Authentic early territorial-era bond specimens are known for an ornate green border, a central vignette of a Bald Eagle, and mining scenes—remaining scarce and widely sought after in scripophily.

2) A “Deceptive” Look That Mimicked U.S. Treasury Bonds

The bond design was inherently confusing. Large, prominent text at the top read “THE UNITED STATES”, while the remaining issuer information appeared below in smaller, less distinct type: “Silver Mining Company of Denver City, Colorado.” For an untrained eye—or a quick glance—these could resemble government obligations.

3) The Counterfeiting Scandal

In the late 1870s and early 1880s, fraudsters exploited the typography. James S. Wilson was arrested for passing the mining bonds off as genuine United States government bonds.

4) Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision (1885)

Wilson’s case reached the Supreme Court. In Ex Parte Wilson, 114 U.S. 417 (1885), the Court ruled that a crime punishable by imprisonment at hard labor is an “infamous crime.” Under the Fifth Amendment, defendants facing such charges are entitled to prosecution by grand jury indictment, not simply by filing an information.

Collector Note

This 1910 $1000 Gold Bond is a remarkable survivor that connects Colorado territorial mining finance, rare high-denomination bond issuance, and a turning-point in constitutional criminal procedure.