1593) "SS Central America" (The "Ship of Gold"), USA: "California Gold Rush" Gold Nuggets recovered from the historic wreck which sank on 12.09.1857:
Many treasure and coin collectors are fascinated by coins that are found deep under the Ocean, that were once part of the cargo of ships' treasure that sank.
Over the course of history, tens of thousands of such ships have sank on inland, coastal waters and deep seas with valuable coins and gold nuggets/precious metal pieces on board. Collectors find these coins particularly fascinating, as they come with a story/history behind them and how they ended up where they were found, sometimes hundreds of years after the ship sank.
This type of coin and precious metal piece is also appreciated because it is rare. Out of thousands of ships that have sunk with treasure on board, very few of them are ever discovered.
They are also historic artefacts that tell us important facts about different periods of history. Collectors value/prize them because many such coins are sometimes found still in high grades, especially Gold coins that typically do not corrode from exposure to salt water. Silver Coins generally do become damaged and corroded from this kind of exposure, but sometimes, if they were stored in safes, they can still be found in high grades, while most recovered Silver Coins require specialised conservation methods.
Many of the famous treasure ships that sank and whose coins were later discovered/recovered are in amazingly pristine condition.
The wreck of the "SS Central America" carrying a treasure of around 7,000 Gold Coins and Gold nuggets from the California Gold Rush:
On 12.09.1857, the ship "SS Central America" sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean 160 miles offshore from Charleston, South Carolina. This ship was known as the "Ship of Gold".
The "SS Central America" earned her nickname because she was carrying her precious cargo - several tons of gold coins, as well as, raw nuggets from the California Gold Rush.
When she went down, the vessel took with her an amount of gold that would have been valued today at $300,000,000 (or 300 million dollars). The gold bided its time at the bottom of the ocean, before it was recovered some 131 years later.
In 1988, more than 7,000 gold coins were recovered from the wreck, making it a household name among shipwreck historians and Coin Collectors. But that was not all.
After another 25 years a greater discovery was mode by the recovery crew using an unmanned submersible. Some 8,000 feet down an incredible discovery awaited - the ship's safe - still closed. The rusty hinges gave way and inside was a leather saddlebag, still tightly wrapped in leather straps as it had been placed there in 1857.
Inside were a number of small pouches (or "pokes") containing hundreds of gold nuggets that had come straight from the "California Gold Rush".
These nuggets represent what may be the most direct connection with the California Gold rush ever found. Stashed away in a saddlebag in the purser's safe of the "SS Central America", these nuggets were on their way from California to the East Coast.
The Gold Nuggets:
Each unique nugget is guaranteed to contain 0.21 to 0.30 grams of American California Gold rush gold. No two nuggets are alike.
Each nugget is encapsulated and placed in an acrylic holder with a Certificate of Authenticity from the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC). The nugget is accompanied with a description booklet as well.
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30) Women's Suffrage, USA: 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment's Ratification (1920-2020), that endorsed Women's Right to Vote: Date of Coins/Medals issue: 18.08.2020
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