This photograph is arguably one of the most important historical artifacts for ingot collectors. It is so important for ingot research because it a period photograph of Western assay ingots. It is the only copy to be known in private hands. This CDV was featured in an article by Fred Holabird in Coin World in 2006. The view, taken for the 1867 Paris International Exhibition by famed Western photographer Carlton Watkins, shows the Fricot gold nugget balanced on top of three different California gold assayer ingots: Hentsch & Berton, Kellogg & Hewston, and A.P. Molitor. Details on ingots are great when the photo is blown up, and the ingots shows the exact same characteristic markings as those found on the SS Central America. The only other known photo of these ingots, taken by Watkins, is in the Hearst Collection. Reverse of this CDV is stamped WA Judson & Co., Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Small stain along top border. The 13.8 lb. Fricot nugget is the largest California gold nugget specimen to have survived 19th century mining. It was discovered on the American River in 1865 by William Davis, who then sold it to Jules Fricot for $3,500. Fricot sent it to the International Paris Exposition in 1867, where it was photographed. It was then returned to Fricot, and he put it in a safety deposit box in a bank in Angels Camp. In 1943, a researcher from the State Division of Mines was trying to track down the nugget and contacted Marie Burton, who was related to Fricot and had been paying for the box. When they opened the box for the first time, the nugget was right where Fricot had put it 75 years before. It was then donated to the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa. California