Lot of 2. Both pieces related to Nevada City assayer James J. Ott. Ott was the assayer who discovered in 1859 that the ore being mined on the Comstock Lode was very rich in silver. The first miners on the Comstock were used to gold placer mining in the California Gold Rush. They didn't realize the fortune hidden in the "blue stuff" clogging their mining devices. John F. Stone, a station-keeper on the Carson River, brought a sample to Ott to assay, the first Comstock ore assayed. When it was found to be full of silver, the rush to the Comstock was launched. Ott ran his office until his death in 1907, and his son continued the business until 1955. 1) Big Tunnel Gold & Silver Mining Company stock certificate. Dateline Nevada, January 23rd, 1865. No. 7, issued to Jas. J. Ott for one share. Signed by secretary AH Otherman and president S Charomund. Not signed by Ott. Cut cancelled. Incorporated November 1864. Two revenue stamps. Native American vignette. Cooke & Co. printers of San Francisco. Folds, toning on left. 4.75 x 9.5" Not listed in Bean's Directory of 1867, California Digital Newspaper Collection or newspapers.com. It is probably a take off of the Gold Tunnel Mining Company, a successful venture owned by William Ralston and Lloyd Tevis in 1865. Overman was a professional mining secretary living in Nevada City. 2) Unused c.1860s receipt for the Nevada Assay Office of James J. Ott. 3 x 8"Date: 1865Country (if not USA): State: CaliforniaCity: Nevada CityProvenance: