Double Eagle coin salvaged from sunken 'Ship of Gold' is priced $16,000

Following the gem proof Kellogg & Co $50 Gold Commemorative Re-strike coin which auctioned last week (July 1), another numismatic rarity from the legendary SS Central America is going under the hammer at Affiliated Auctions' two-day auction this weekend, July 10-11.


The rescued 1857-S Double Eagle
gold coin auctions on Sunday

The SS Central America operated between Central America and the US's east coast during the 1850s.

The 280-foot steamer was nicknamed "the Ship of Gold" because of its valuable haul of bullion. In September 1857, the boat sank in a Hurricane off the coast of North Carolina.

Four-hundred passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds of gold sank along with it. In fact, so valued was the ship's cargo that its sinking contributed to a sudden downturn in the US's economy - today remembered as the Panic of 1857.

Appearing at Affiliated's Tallahassee, Florida auction, and also being made available to online bidders worldwide, is this 1857-S Double Eagle gold coin.

Unlike the Kellogg & Co $50 re-strike coin that auctioned earlier this month, which was later struck from gold rescued from the SS Central America's wreck, this Double Eagle is one of 2,300 newly-minted coins that were actually aboard the doomed ship as it returned from California.


An artist's impression of the sinking SS Central America, the 'Ship of Gold'

Salvaged when the Ship of Gold's wreck was discovered on September 11, 1987, the coin has been graded PCGS MS-65 (or "Gem Uncirculated") and will carry an estimate of $14,000-16,000 when it goes to auction, this coming Sunday.

Affiliated Auctions' sale will begin at 10am, Eastern Daylight Time.

 

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