 North Carolina Gold-mine Company. Certificate for One Share. city of Washington (N.C.). Written date, September 26, '180'8. Fully signed and issued. Signed by Wiggins as 'President'. Printed on laid paper. 22.5cm by 15.0cm. Typeset with ornate border. Title at the left side indent. Large 'Be it Known' in Gothic type at the top left. Issued to Robert Frazer of Philadelphia. A rare and very early North Carolina gold mining company share. The North Carolina gold mining era began at the Reed mines in 1805. There are two burn marks at the top edge, otherwise close to Very Fine.
The North Carolina gold rush was ushered in 1799 when a nugget was found by twelve year old Conrad John Reed. It was not until 1802 that it was realized the 'rock' was gold. Reed was the son of John Reed, a former Hessian soldier who had deserted the pro British mercenaries and settled in Mecklenburg County. The seventeen pound ''rock'' had been used as a doorstop at the Reed farm. A Fayetteville jeweler ''stole'' the rock for a paltry $3.50 from Reed. However, the event triggered the first gold rush in the nation's brief history. The initial panning took place by Reed and a few others at Little Meadow Creek (where the first nugget was discovered) and only during the off planting season.
The rush became more sophisticated as the events of 1804 to 1808 brought more miners and assay equipment to the area. The need to establish mining companies was necessary and the rush had even gotten the attention of Elias Boudinot, Director of the U.S. Mint and Thomas Jefferson. A source for U.S. mined gold would ease our reliance on foreign gold. The North Carolina Gold-mine Company was a speculative venture of William Thornton (designer of the Nation's Capitol) who sought to obtain options for the lands surrounding the Reed acreage. The plan failed since the owners were getting rich on their own. Thornton later became the head of the Patent Office.
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