Recovered SS Central America Treasure Includes Prooflike Fractional Gold Coins

An amazing grouping of extraordinary quality California fractional gold coins were recovered during the latest mission to the fabled "Ship of Gold," the SS Central America, that sank in 1857 on a voyage from Panama to New York City, according to the California Gold Marketing Group (CGMG) of Brea, California. Many of the coins are now the finest known.

"A total of 112 privately-minted, California Gold Rush fractional coins in denominations of 25 cents, 50 cents and $1 were retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean, and an unprecedented 54 of them now have been designated prooflike by Professional Coin Grading Service," revealed Dwight Manley, CGMG managing partner.

One of the superb sunken treasure 50-cent fractional coins was graded PCGS MS68+PL.

"This is the finest known group of its kind in history. The condition of these coins is unrivaled, and for the first time ever PCGS has designated dozens as prooflike. It’s a true time capsule," exclaimed Manley.

"More than 50 of the coins are finer than the previously known fractionals of their respective variety."

The California fractionals were among more than 3,000 gold coins recovered in 2014 from the SS Central America but only recently examined in detail, cataloged by Breen-Gillio reference numbers and graded.

"In 2014, when we first saw these coins lying in the shipwreck’s debris field, I realized how it illustrated the importance of California fractional gold in the day-to-day commerce of 1857 California. For instance, 11 of these delightful little coins were mingled within one remarkable jumble of 264 pieces of gold currency: 236 U.S. gold coins of every denomination and 17 foreign gold coins," said Bob Evans.

Evans was the chief scientist on the 1980’s missions that first located and recovered a portion of the fabulous SS Central America treasure and then assisted with the 2014 recovery.

"As I curated these fabulous wonders under the microscope I was struck by both the crudeness of their manufacture and by the remarkable state of preservation, many of them looking as if a San Francisco jeweler had minted them yesterday. The dozens of prooflike specimens are truly stunning!," Evans added.

Highlights of the discoveries include:

1856 25 cents (BG-111), graded PCGS MS68PL, and another of this variety is graded PCGS

MS67+PL and two others are PCGS MS67PL;

No date 25 cents (BG-224), PCGS MS66PL;

1853 50 cents (BG-302), the rare "Peacock" design on the reverse, PCGS MS64;

1856 50 cents (BG-307), PCGS MS66PL;

1856 50 cents (BG-311), PCGS MS68+PL, and two others of this variety are MS67PL;

1856 50 cents (BG-434), MS67+PL, and second one of this variety is PCGS MS67PL;

1855 $1 (BG-533), PCGS MS64PL.

Each of the PCGS-certified fractional gold coins now is encapsulated in specially-produced and labeled holders that contain a pinch of recovered SS Central America gold dust in a separate compartment.

The insert label includes a statement of authenticity hand-signed by Evans.

"The SS Central America treasure is literally a historic and financial time machine, taking you back to the minds of the public during the California Gold Rush," stated PCGS Co-Founder and Collectors Universe President David Hall. "At one point as I looked at all of the fractional gold coins together it was almost a startling out of body experience for me. I imaged myself in a restaurant or a bar in 1857 as I wondered what a steak and beer would cost back then? Would I have to give them a 50-cent gold piece or a $1 gold piece? It was like being there in 1857," recalled Hall.

In the coming weeks, additional highlights of the recently examined and certified treasure will be revealed. A complete inventory of U.S. and world coins and assayers’ ingots recovered in 2014 will be listed in an upcoming book, America’s Greatest Treasure Ship: The SS Central America, The Second Journey, by Q. David Bowers and Manley. It will be published by the California Gold Marketing Group later this year.

The SS Central America was a 280-foot long, three-masted side-wheel steamship carrying tons of California gold that had been shipped from San Francisco to Panama when she sank in a September 1857 hurricane during a voyage from Aspinwall (now Colón), Panama to New York City. The loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial panic of 1857 in the United States.

The California Gold Marketing Group LLC of Brea, California acquired the 2014 treasure from Ira Owen Kane, Receiver for Recovery Limited Partnership and Columbus Exploration, LLC in a court-approved transaction in November 2017. In 1999, the group acquired all of the available treasure that was recovered in the 1980s.