assay office

noun

a local testing station for assaying ore, as gold or silver, especially a government station maintained in connection with the registration of mineral claims, purchases of gold, or the like.

Origin of assay office

First recorded in 1765–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

A paste-pot left overnight in an assay office was found in the morning filled with the oddest collection of rubbish.
Motor Matt's Mystery | Stanley R. Matthews
There is little left here, though the assay office, built up against a massive square rock still stands.
The Lake of the Sky | George Wharton James
The house in which he was born was a large yellow mansion, standing on the spot on which the assay office has since been built.
A Discourse on the Life, Character and Writings of Gulian Crommelin Verplanck | William Cullen Bryant
It was a good half minute before I even wondered what had brought Macartney out of his bed in the assay office.
The La Chance Mine Mystery | Susan Carleton Jones
He had turned so white that I remembered his faint in the assay office, like you do remember things that don't matter.
The La Chance Mine Mystery | Susan Carleton Jones

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