Stratton's Independence, Limited

Cripple Creek, Colorado

The Independence Mine was Winfield Scott Stratton's first and richest mine in the  Cripple Creek District.  Stratton held this mine privately until it was sold to a British syndicate in 1899 for $10,000,000!!  It was the largest sum paid for a single mine to-date.

This Stratton's Independence, Limited certificate is the first issuance of shares and represents the Independence Mine after it was sold to the British syndicate, Venture Corporation, Limited.  While many mining men had to raise capital in order to run their mines, Stratton made his Independence profitable on his own, with no public money.  This mine was his "bank vault".  He mined the ore only when he had to, and only as much as he had to, in order to make payroll and pay his bills.  He felt that the gold ore was worth more in the ground than out.   No other man in the district, quite possibly in the state, was able to achieve the level of profit and success from a single mine with no outside capital.

There are four color varieties of this certificate: Blue, Light Green, Dark Green, and Red.   Rarity: R4