I wonder how the Comstock Lode and other silver-rich mines of Nevada compare to Potosi? It was a huge strike. They were actually looking for gold around Mt. Davidson. This thick, heavy blue mud, almost like a putty, was clogging everything up. Somebody finally came along who had at least some geology training and quietly bought up all the “worthless” gold claims. The blue mud assayed at better than 75% pure silver.
Comstock himself traded his 1/6 share of the mine for an old blind mule and a bottle of whiskey. Oops.
It was basically a mountain of silver. So much, it interfered heavily in American politics. Rural agrarian interests (And Nevada, natch) favored minting large numbers of silver dollars, and the large banks in the east favored adherence to the gold specie, and didn’t want to lend gold and get paid back in depreciated dollars.
This was kind of the impetus behind William Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech during his presidential campaign.
Based on some information I found the Comstock Lode produced at today’s prices almost $500 MM worth of silver. Potosi produced 40,000 tons of silver = 1.28 billion ounces valued at today’s prices a little over $20 billion.