Lot
1310 
Hinckley & Co.'s Express, Denver City, Aug 9, 1860, clear strike of cds on cover addressed to "W.R. Dorn, Nevada City, Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory", franked with 1857, 3¢ dull red, horizontal pair (tiny perf flaws) tied by manuscript "Dorn's Gold Mine, SoCa. 24 Jul, 1860" manuscript cancel, endorsed at bottom left manuscript "Care Hinckley & Co., St Joseph, Missouri"; light cover soiling and expertly restored edge faults, F.-V.F., a wonderful usage from Dorn's Gold Mine, S.C. to a Dorn family member, or perhaps William Dorn himself, in the Colorado Pikes Peak Gold Region during the Kansas territory period and one of the very few known postmarks from Dorn's Gold Mine, S.C. Scott No. 26 Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
Dorn's Gold Mine was struck in 1852 by William Dorn, who excavated nearly one million dollars in gold before the vein was exhausted in the late 1850s. Dorn used slaves to excavate the dirt and employed several different types of mills to process the gold. Dorn became a wealthy man but lost much of his fortune after the Civil War. Dorn's Gold Mine, the town, was granted a U.S. Post Office on April 5, 1857 and its first Postmaster was Mr. James Dorn.