Odyssey Marine Releases Preliminary List of Numismatic Items Recovered from S.S. Central America

Jon Gold, Government, History, Precious Metals, Silver

Central America was a 280-foot steamship that carried passengers and bullion from Panama to ports on the Eastern seaboard of the United States.
The ship sank after it was caught in a September 1857 hurricane. More than 420 of the 550 people on board died. The sinking was the worst shipwreck in American history–a short-lived distinction as the sinking of the S.S. Sultana in 1865 took the lives of more than 1,500 people.
As CoinWeek reported earlier, the April 15, 2014 reconnaissance dive turned up five gold ingots and two $20 double eagle gold coins. Recovery efforts were threatened after a legal claim filed on behalf of the Columbus-America Discovery Group. Odyssey Marine continued their recovery efforts throughout the proceedings and a U.S District Court in Virginia dismissed the case.
In the report, recovery work that took place between April 15 and May 8, 2014 yielded more than 800 gold coins and a cache of nearly 10,000 silver coins, including 8,931 dimes. However, the company’s most recent communication to CoinWeek reveals that the firm’s efforts have turned up and extensive accumulation of gold and silver objects.

This post was published at CoinWeek