Helpless At Sea

The Washington Post’s September 14, 1989, article titled, “Storybook Treasure Found off South Carolina” stated, “Thompson and company . . . set out to do what many experts said was impossible: locate the wreck and recover the gold using a remotely operated vehicle (Nemo) that can withstand water pressure of 3600 pounds per square inch.” The article notes, “Working under 8000 feet of water, the ROV recovered thousands of gold coins, ingots, and nuggets, along with hundreds of personal effects and nautical artifacts.”

Excluding the personal and nautical historic artifacts, the treasure trove of gold coins, ingots and miner’s dust should be placed in private collections or museums. The monetary value has been estimated to exceed $250 million, making this recovery the greatest treasure ever found.

During the California Gold Rush era of the 1850s, the United States Dollar was fixed to gold at the rate of $20.67 per pure troy ounce.

In the California gold fields, a day’s wages was $5. Most of the ingots have a currency value of over $1,000, representing almost a year’s wages in the gold fields, or several years’ wages for an average working man on the East Coast.

The most renowned numismatic reference guide, the Red Book, documents eight specimens that range in weight from 1.5 to 2.5 ounces. The Red Book also reports a five-ounce J.G. Kellogg ingot in the National Coin Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Considering that private assayer coins survived in great quantity and are highly prized by collectors, it is amazing that very few specimens, all quite small, had survived. Because their face value was so high (representing real money), almost all larger ingots were converted to standard coins at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia or San Francisco shortly after arrival.

Many Americans feel that the entire treasure should be in a museum. They are correct that each piece is so rare and historically important that it warrants museum display. However, the private coiner gold ingots and coins from the SS Central America are so numerous that there are enough for museums and private collectors to share. In fact, many museums, including the California Historical Society, have held significant exhibitions of these treasures.

Not only was the Herndon Monument erected in 1860 at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, but as Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper wrote in 1857, “No hero in the heat of battle ever performed more heroic deeds than did Captain William Lewis Herndon in the final hours of the SS Central America.” His calm guidance and devotion to duty saved the lives of 153 passengers.

The History Channel has sold DVD copies of the program “Ship of Gold” online. Also, Monaco Financial, an Authorized Ingot Dealer, makes the video available to collectors and investors. You may also contact various online retailers or local libraries.

The highly regarded rare coin periodical, The Numismatist, reported that a sum of $800,000 was paid by Warner Brothers to acquire the movie rights to the story of the SS Central America. The project has been in development for several years.

There is a rare and important opportunity to acquire artifacts from this historic treasure at the moment. Consider calling an Authorized Ingot Dealer at 888-900-9948 to request your FREE pictorial investment kit or catalogue.