S.S. Central America Collection Shipwreck Gold Coins

1857-S $20 Liberty Gold Coins

hree years after the opening of the San Francisco mint, a huge cargo of freshly minted coins, gold bars, and private-issue coins were loaded on a side-wheel steamship for a land-sea journey to New York. The passengers originally boarded the Sonora as it headed out for Panama on August 20th, 1857. After traversing the isthmus by train, over 500 passengers and the gold were loaded on the United States Mail Steamship Central America.

The passengers and crew set sail for New York on September 3rd and encountered a monstrous hurricane shortly thereafter. The ill-fated ship and its cargo sunk to the bottom of the ocean floor somewhere off the Carolinas after struggling to stay afloat for three days. Only a quarter of the people aboard survived and tons of gold were believed lost forever. The disaster still stands as one of the worst shipwrecks in United States peacetime history. The shipwreck led to the failures of several institutions as well as the “panic of 1857”. Some historians believe that this crisis was one of the financial triggers for the Civil War less than four years later.

A massive human and financial effort undertaken 131 years later allowed searchers to identify the S.S. Central America's wreckage 8000 feet below the ocean. After years of legal wrangling, the Columbus-America group recovered the treasure, finding most of the coins to be as bright and lustrous as the day they were minted in 1857! All the recovered coins eventually found their way to collections, museums, and investment portfolios. However, this relatively small group of coins became available when one of the original investors in the recovery chose to liquidate his holdings for personal reasons.

If coins could only talk, what a story the $20 Liberties of the SS Central America could tell. From the gold hills of mid-Nineteenth Century California to the San Francisco Mint, through Panama, down to the bottom of the Atlantic, back to the surface, and now to you. This may be your best opportunity to hold a significant piece of American history in your hand.

Current Offer
We currently offer stunning presentation displays. When you receive your coin and open the box, you will find a beautiful hard-bound book that conjures up images of a first edition Moby Dick or Treasure Island. The first several pages tell the story of this fateful vessel before you open to find the coin itself in a fashionable display stand. This stand makes a great addition to your desk, nightstand, or mantle, allowing everyone who views it the opportunity to gaze directly into the sands of time.

To learn more about this historic collection, call 1-877-376-2646 or fill in your name and number to have a Goldline Account Executive contact you.