Last Cornish tin ingot raises more than £14,000 for charity at auction
The last ever ingot of tin to be smelted in Cornwall went to auction last week and has raised £14,144 for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).
The auction was held at Lay’s Auctioneers in Penzance on 7 August. The ingot, lot 129, was the very last ingot of tin to be smelted in Cornwall at Wheal Jane, following the closure of South Crofty mine in 1998.
The ingot reached £6,400 through an exciting flurry of bidding from those both in the room and from many around the country and world following online. The Wheal Jane Group then generously match funded the amount taking the total raised to £12,800. Lays Auctioneers kindly agreed to pass on their buyer’s premium of £1,344, taking the final total raised and handed over to CHSW to £14,144. These proceeds will go towards funding the vital work of CHSW at its three hospices including Little Harbour in St Austell.
Amanda Masters, Area Fundraiser for CHSW, is delighted with the outcome of the auction. She said: “I am absolutely blown away with the amount being donated to CHSW from this auction. It has made my day seeing the Cornish community come together and show such generosity from this auction of a special piece of mining history.
The costs are rising year on year, and for CHSW it costs nearly £4 million a year to run Little Harbour. We really rely on the support from local businesses, members of the public and community groups, so the money raised will go towards the vital care for more than 120 babies, children and young people that we currently look after across Cornwall and Plymouth.