The S.S. Central America Recovered Gold
The 1842-O Quarter Eagle, graded PCGS VF30, is remarkable piece among S.S. Central America shipwreck gold coins. Produced by the New Orleans Mint. Coins from this era, especially those minted in New Orleans, often show considerable wear, but examples recovered from the wreck are in remarkably high grade. The Certificate is present. Additionally, there is small piece of dug gold, “California Gold Dust, 1957”. Both pieces are presented in a display box. On a dark and stormy night, October 3rd, 1857, the S.S. Central America, bound to New York from Havana, battled the high seas during a Category 2 hurricane. The massive 280-foot, three-masted, side-wheeled, wooden-hulled steamship was hammered repeatedly by the storm, and through fractures in the hull, the water rose higher and higher inside the vessel. Crew and passengers bailed water all through the night, only to have mother nature reign supreme and take the mighty ship under the surface. That night 425 passengers and over three tons of California Gold Rush Gold sank to the deepest, darkest depths of Davy Jones Locker somewhere off the Carolinas. The precious metal cargo on board consisted primarily of thousands of the Twenty Dollar Gold Double Eagle Liberty “Coronet head” coins valued at two million dollars at the time (the modern-day equivalent of $300 million). The “Ship of Gold,” as it also has come to be known, was discovered 160 miles off the coast at a depth of somewhere around 7,200-8,500 feet by scientist and explorer Tommy Thompson and his group, the Columbus-America Discovery Group of Ohio.
[ translate ]The 1842-O Quarter Eagle, graded PCGS VF30, is remarkable piece among S.S. Central America shipwreck gold coins. Produced by the New Orleans Mint. Coins from this era, especially those minted in New Orleans, often show considerable wear, but examples recovered from the wreck are in remarkably high grade. The Certificate is present. Additionally, there is small piece of dug gold, “California Gold Dust, 1957”. Both pieces are presented in a display box. On a dark and stormy night, October 3rd, 1857, the S.S. Central America, bound to New York from Havana, battled the high seas during a Category 2 hurricane. The massive 280-foot, three-masted, side-wheeled, wooden-hulled steamship was hammered repeatedly by the storm, and through fractures in the hull, the water rose higher and higher inside the vessel. Crew and passengers bailed water all through the night, only to have mother nature reign supreme and take the mighty ship under the surface. That night 425 passengers and over three tons of California Gold Rush Gold sank to the deepest, darkest depths of Davy Jones Locker somewhere off the Carolinas. The precious metal cargo on board consisted primarily of thousands of the Twenty Dollar Gold Double Eagle Liberty “Coronet head” coins valued at two million dollars at the time (the modern-day equivalent of $300 million). The “Ship of Gold,” as it also has come to be known, was discovered 160 miles off the coast at a depth of somewhere around 7,200-8,500 feet by scientist and explorer Tommy Thompson and his group, the Columbus-America Discovery Group of Ohio.
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