Ingot recovered from ‘Ship of Gold’ which sank off the U.S. in 1857 expected to sell for $140,000 – 211 TIMES its original value
‘Rich with historical appeal’: The gold ingot which is set to go on sale at Bonhams in Los Angeles, California, next month
A gold bar recovered from a ship that sank during the Californian Gold Rush is up for auction – with an estimate set at 211 times it’s original value.
The ingot, which weighs 40oz and is expected to sell for about $140,000, was part of a 10-ton hoard of gold that went down with the SS Central America in 1857.
At the time, the cargo was worth $2million and its loss during a hurricane contributed to the ‘Panic of 1857’ – the world’s first world-wide economic crisis.
In 1987 much of the hoard was recovered from the seabed after the so-called ‘Ship of Gold’ was discovered in the Atlantic.
The epic discovery sparked a nine year legal battle after a host of insurance companies that paid out for the loss 155 years ago claimed ownership.
But it was ruled that 92 per cent of the bullion should be awarded to the discovery team, led by Tommy Thompson, whose company Columbus-America Discovery Group found the ship.
Now this Kellog and Humbert ingot from the ship is to be sold at auction.
Stamped on its base is the bar’s original value of $743.70 along with ‘Kellog and Humbert’. The reverse is a plain casting save for the serial number 648 repeated at the top.
Paul Song, director of the rare coins department at auctioneers Bonhams, said: ‘This is a highly impressive example that sports gleaming yellow-gold colour and few imperfections as made.
‘It is a piece rich with historical appeal that is an indelible link to the great Californian Gold Rush.
‘This lot includes a certificate of authenticity from the Columbus-America Discovery Group and signed by Tommy Thompson, indicating it was recovered from the SS Central America.
‘We are delighted to offer such a rare and unusual piece related to the Gold Rush.’
This engraving shows the sinking of the SS Central America, which sank in a storm of the coast of the Carolinas with the loss of 426 lives and £1.3million worth of gold cargo
The gold ship, a 278ft-long sidewheel steamer, had 578 passengers and crew on board when she left the Panamanian port of Colon on September 3 1857, bound for New York under the command of William Lewis Herndon.
After a stop in Havana, she continued north up the U.S. east coast until, on September 9, she was caught in a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas.
Her fate was sealed when one of the seals to the paddle wheels sprang a leak and, by noon that day, her engineers could keep the boiler’s fire burning no longer.
The resulting fall in steam pressure shut down both the pumps that were keeping water at bay and the paddle wheels that had kept her bow to the wind.
In an attempt to draw attention to their plight, passengers and crew flew the ship’s flag upside down, a universal sign of distress, to try to signal a passing ship. None came.
A bucket brigade was formed and her passengers and crew spent the night fighting a losing battle against the rising water.
Treasures: These gold nuggets, bars and coins from the SS Central America lay on the ocean floor for over 140 years until their recovery in 1987 by U.S. firm Columbus-America Discovery Group
As the ship passed the eye of the storm, engineers made vain attempts to relight the boiler.
The second half of the storm then struck. Without power the Central America was carried along with the hurricane, unable to escape the powerful winds.
The next morning two ships were spotted and 153 passengers, mainly women and children, managed to make their way over in lifeboats.
However the intense winds and heavy seas pulled the Central America and the rest of her company away from any hope of rescue. By 8pm that night, the ship sank with them – and her precious cargo – still aboard.
When she left on her fateful journey the value of the gold was $2million. When the cargo was brought up the gold recovered was estimated to be worth as much as $150million.
Also being sold at the same auction are two rare $50 gold coins that were struck in 1915 to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal.
A rare round version of the Panama-Pacific Exposition coin is expected to sell for $80,000 and an octagonal coin attached to a gold chain with a key at one end and corkscrew at the other is tipped to sell for $20,000.
The auction takes place at Bonhams in Los Angeles, California, on September 2.
Also up for grabs: These two rare $50 gold coins, struck in 1915 to celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, are expected to reach £50,000 when they go under the hammer