155-year-old scale goes up for auction in Reno

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – A 19th century scale once used to weigh hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold and silver is now being offered at a Reno auction.

The scale was used at the Nevada Mint in Carson City and was used, among other things, to measure gold and silver from the Comstock Lode. It will also be offered online through Holabird Western Americana Collections on November 24.

“This is the original Carson City Mint bullion scale, built for the U.S. Treasury Department in 1869 by scale and balance manufacturer Henry Troemner and Company of Philadelphia. It was in use the day the Mint opened in 1870,” said Fred Holabird, president of Holabird Western Americana Collections.

The Carson City Mint stopped making coins in 1893 and the Mint building, now home to the Nevada State Museum, was used as an assay office between 1900 and 1933. After the office closed, most of the Mint’s contents were thrown away by the Treasury Department. .

“It is believed that the five-foot bowl built into a mid-height table for ease of use at the Mint was purchased by a local resident and later became an attraction at the Nugget Casino that opened in 1955 in Sparks, Nevada. The casino’s general manager, John Ascuaga, bought the casino from his boss in 1959 and continued to show the scale there. The Ascuaga family sold the Nugget Casino in 2013, but privately kept the historic shell intact, in perfect condition and fully functioning,” Holabird said.

“When the Carson City Mint was on public display for decades, the scale of the Carson City Mint was one of those wonderful, special things that you didn’t have to be a coin collector to appreciate. This is the most important numismatic artefact to have surfaced in many decades and is truly a treasure found,” said Holabird.