Shipwreck and Treasure of the S.S. Brother Jonathan

Excerpt from Captain Tugg and the Wreck of the Brother Jonathan featured in the July---December, 1900 issue of the The Overland Monthly magazine.

"The reason those divin' men don't find more treasure on the bottom of the sea 'n they do, is because they don't look in the right place. . . . Take the Brother Jonathan, for instance. . . . It is said when she went to the bottom she carried a half million dollars in treasure down with her. . . . thos 'Frisco divin' companies wanted the Brother Jonathan's gold, so they sent up an outfit, and two tugs and two Chinamen to do the cookin', and went to work to locate her. But they never found her, Miss, - never found hide nor hair of her. So they pulled up their anchors and put back to 'Frisco."

Who was Brother Jonathan?

Brother Jonathan was the precursor to Uncle Sam. It was the name that personified the United States throughout the early 19th century. When Edward Mill put the name on his newly launched sidewheel steamship in November 1850, many people throughout the world had come to know the United States as Brother Jonathan. On a later April 1868 visit by the U.S. Navy's Admiral Farragut to a Royal Navy garrison at Malta, copies of a song were distributed by the British to the visiting American sailors that contained verses such as:

And we, oh, hate us if you can,
For we are proud of you
We like you Brother Jonathan
And "Yankee Doodle" too!

SS Yankee Blade Shipwreck

Four years after her launch in October 1854, the SS Brother Jonathan found herself transporting survivors from the ill fated SS Yankee Blade back to San Francisco. The SS Yankee Blade, with over 900 passengers and crew aboard, had sank after hitting a submerged reef while it recklessly raced another steamship, the SS Sonora, at full speed in a thick fog.

The Gold

During the Civil War years, gold was discovered in eastern Oregon and parts nearby. The gold was shipped overland to Portland and then by sea to San Francisco. The gold would then be minted into gold coins at San Francisco, and many would be shipped back north.

On Sunday July 30, 1865, the Brother Jonathan was on one such trip to the north carrying over 240 passengers and crew, and millions of dollars worth of newly minted gold bars and $20 Double Eagle gold coins. Some of the gold was to be used for Indian Treaty payments. The ship also carried a U.S. Army payroll of $200,000 in newly printed paper currency.

The Storm

After 34 hours of sailing through stormy seas from San Francisco to Crescent City, Captain Samuel J. DeWolfe left Crescent City's harbor under nearly clear blue skies headed for Portland only about a day away. Within 30 minutes of leaving Crescent City, the SS Brother Jonathan ran into a severe storm with mountainous waves cresting at up to 30 feet high. A couple of hours later, terrified passengers begged the Captain to return to the safety of the harbor at Crescent City. The Captain ordered the ship to turn around.

About 20 minutes after turning the ship around, the SS Brother Jonathan was again under blue skies but the waves continued to crest at close to 30 feet. As the ship picked up speed with the wind at its back, the ship struck an uncharted reef.

The impact sent the nine-story mast through the bottom of the ship and the ship began to break apart as it lay impaled upon the reef. Huge waves washed screaming passengers off the decks of the ship.

There were six lifeboats onboard the ship capable of carrying 250 passengers. Technically, there were enough lifeboats to save all the passengers and crew. However, as each lifeboat was launched, huge waves would engulf the small crafts tossing everyone into the sea. In the end, only one lifeboat with 19 people made it to shore. The rest of the passengers and crew perished. For the next few weeks, bodies would wash up on shore.

The Passengers

Among the passengers that day was Daniel and Polina Rowell and their four children. They left their farm in Iowa to join Polina's parents in Oregon. Upon learning of the shipwreck and the deaths of his daughter's family, Polina's father went searching for her body along the coast. He eventually found both his daughter's and son-in-law's bodies. Although he had never met his grandchildren, he claimed the bodies of four children by saying they were his grandchildren and buried them all together.

Another passenger to perish was the recently appointed Superintendent of the U.S. Mint in The Dalles, Oregon, William Logan. Logan was to oversee the construction of the new mint. Possibly due to his death, the new mint was never completed. Had the SS Brother Jonathan completed its trip to Portland, perhaps collectors today would be as passionate about coins minted at The Dalles mint as they are today regarding the Carson City mint.

One other notable passenger was James Nisbet, editor of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. While other passengers and crew scranbled to save themselves, James Nisbet sat down in the ship's lounge and began to calmly write out his last will and testament. When his body was discovered a few days later, the will was discovered inside a breast pocket wrapped in oil cloth.

The Treasure

On October 1, 1993, a company founded by Don Knight called Deep Sea Research located the wreck of the SS Brother Jonathan using a small mini-submarine. But it would not be until August 30, 1996 that divers would find the first gold coins. 564 gold $20 double eagles were recovered that first day. In all, a total of 1,207 coins were recovered in 1996 and 1997. Nearly all the coins were struck at the San Francisco mint.

Many of the coins were discovered still wrapped in oil paper, twenty-five coins in a stack. Other coins found not wrapped were surrounded by large marine encrustations. The oil-paper wrapping and marine encrustations protected the coins and is probably the main reason so many coins were recovered in mint state condition.

In 2000, Dwight Manley and Bob Evans (both of SS Central America fame) went back to the site and recovered 58 more coins that were scattered individually about the site; 38 were double eagles eventually graded by NGC.

The Fight for the Treasure

Finding treasure is supposed to be a happy occasion with everyone getting rich. But in reality, it usually winds up with a lot of claimants clamoring for a piece of the pie. In the case of the SS Brother Jonathan, the salvors, descendants of passengers, shippers, and the State of California all got greedy and began legal battles to claim a share of the treasure. Ironically, the man who started the entire venture, Don Knight, was to get into a fight with others from Deep Sea Research and he eventually left the venture before any gold was recovered.

In 1999, the State of California finally settled for 200 of the $20 gold double eagles estimated at $5,000 per coin or $1 million dollars. Under the settlement, California agreed not to sell the coins on the open market for at least 15 years. The earliest we will see any of these coins is in 2014. With the current state of California's finances, its probably safe to say that California will probably sell the coins as soon as they can.

The Auctions

The first public offering of SS Brother Jonathan coins occurred on May 29, 1999. A Bowers and Merena auction offered 842 lots of gold coins to collectors. Bowers and Merena estimated the auction would bring between six and eight million dollars. In the end, the sale actually brought in only $6.3 million.

While not a total bust, it certainly had to be a disappointment to the Deep Sea Research folks. After Bowers and Merena took their share, Deep Sea Research wound up with only about $4.6 million. When the all the costs and legal expenses were added up, the members of Deep Sea Research wound up with very small return on their money. Unlike the SS Central America treasure, the SS Brother Jonathan did not bring vast wealth to its finders.

Sources

Bowers and Merena (Firm). The S.S. Brother Jonathan Treasure Coins: auction sale May 29, 1999 at Los Angeles, California. Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena, 1999.

Bowers, Q. David. A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins: A Complete History and Price Guide. Atlanta: Whitman Publishing LLC, 2004.

Bowers, Q. David. The Treasure Ship S. S. Brother Jonathan: Her Life and Loss, 1850-1865. Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena, 1999.

Farragut, Loyall. David Glasgow Farragut: First Admiral of the United States Navy Embodying his Journal and Letters. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1879.

Powers, Dennis M. Treasure Ship: The Legend and Legacy of the S.S. Brother Jonathan. New York: Citadel Press, 2006.

Rogers, Thos. H. "Captain Tugg and the Wreck of the Brother Jonathan." The Overland Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine of the West vol. XXXVI, 2nd series (July---December, 1900).

Millions for Defense, but Not One Cent for Tribute

(Hard Times token collectors may enjoy the this 1837 song!)

“No, no, not a sixpence, sir!” replied Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to France’s demand for tribute. Pinckney, along with Elbridge Gerry and John Marshall, was sent to France in 1797 by President John Adams to try to negotiate an end to French attacks on American ships. As news of the French demand spread throughout America, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” eventually became the public rallying cry as anti-French feelings grew. But, contrary to what some Hard Times token and historical references say, it was not Charles Pinckney who first spoke the famous phrase.

Hard Times Tokens

Hard Times token collectors are familiar with this slogan because it appears on many different varieties of satirical tokens dated 1837 and 1841. The history surrounding the “Not One Cent” tokens makes them very desirable to collectors, yet the rarity of each variety ranges from very common to the extremely rare (i.e. 2 to 3 examples known). Thus, the “Not One Cent” group of tokens has something for everyone.

Lyman Low Catalog

In 1899, Lyman Low cataloged the Hard Times tokens known to him at that time, numbering them from 1 to 183. Some collectors still only collect the initial 183 tokens cataloged by Low. Later the Low numbers were expanded to include additional tokens. Today, Hard Times tokens are generally cataloged under an HT number system devised by Russell Rulau in his book Hard Times Tokens 1832-1844.

Many varieties of the “Not One Cent” tokens have both obverses and reverses that are similar to those found on the large cent of the time. Others have obverses that reflect the great political issues of the day. It is said that in order to avoid charges of counterfeiting, the phrase “NOT ONE CENT” was emphasized on the reverse of these tokens.

America’s First Undeclared War

Although most people know that France was our ally towards the end of the Revolutionary War, what they don’t know is that just a few years later, France also became oure enemy in our first undeclared war against another country. France suffered its own revolution in 1789 that overthrew the monarchy.

In 1797, France was run by a group of five men known as The Directory. The Directory wanted the United States to be an ally of theirs in a war against Great Britain. George Washington, on the other hand, wanted the United States to stay neutral. In 1794, the United States signed Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain which angered France. The French, in turn, unleashed their navy and privateers on American shipping.

Demand for Tribute

It was these events that led Pinckney and the others to travel to France to try to address the French grievances. When they got to France they were kept waiting by the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand. During this time, they were approached by three individuals, later identified as X, Y, and Z in documents. Messengers X, Y, and Z informed the American party that before any negotiations could begin, the United States would have to pay the five members of The Directory $50,000 each and pay tribute to France in the form of a $10,000,000 loan. These demands are what prompted Pinckney’s “not a sixpence” response.

Pinckney’s Not the Man!

The history regarding the origin of the “millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” phrase has been somewhat controversial over the years. From shortly after Pinckney’s trip to France, until fairly recently, Pinckney was given credit for giving this “not one cent” reply to the French. Pinckney himself is said to have denied ever uttering the phrase in place of his “not a sixpence” response. In an October 1797 letter from Pinckney to Timothy Pickering, Pinckney wrote that he had replied to the French with the “not a sixpence” phrase.

So where did the phrase “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” come from?

Harper's the Man!

Shortly after returning from France, John Marshall, who would eventually become the 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was honored at a dinner in Philadelphia on the night of June 18, 1798. Representative Robert Goodloe Harper of South Carolina, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, was one of those present at the dinner. Charles Pinckney was also present.

The next day a newspaper recorded the toasts that were given to John Marshall at the dinner the night before. The toast from Robert Goodloe Harper was stated as “Millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute!” It wasn’t long before people, and later historians, had taken these words and placed them in the mouth of Charles Pinckney for his reply to the French.

Barbary Pirates

Just a few years later, President Thomas Jefferson again took up the cry “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” in regard to the Barbary States of Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis. These Barbary “pirates” demanded tribute from the United States in order to keep them from attacking American shipping. The capture and enslavement of the crew of the USS Philadelphia by Tripoli appalled most Americans. A newspaper known to be a strong supporter of Thomas Jefferson ran an article with the headline “Millions for Defense, but not a Cent for Tribute” thus picking up the rallying cry once again.

This Barbary hostage crisis was the equivalent in its day to the Iran hostage crisis at the end of the Carter Administration some 175 years later. The resulting military action, specifically the battle of Derne, led to the Tripoli portion of the phrase “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli” in The Marine Corps’ Hymn.

Hard Times

By 1837, there were still many Americans that remembered the cry “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute”. So it is not surprising that this would end up on many Hard Times tokens. These “hard times” came about as a result of President Andrew Jackson’s economic policies. These policies, which included the President’s stand against the Second Bank of the United States, certainly led to the Panic of 1837 and a resulting shortage of coinage due to hoarding. The production of Hard Times tokens was a direct response to help solve this nation's coin shortage during this time.

Sources

Appleby, Joyce. Thomas Jefferson. Macmillan, 2003.

Brown, Everit and Albert Strauss. A Dictionary of American Politics: Comprising Accounts of Political Parties, Measures and Men . . .etc. A.L. Burt, 1907.

Editor. “Letters to the Editor,” Time Magazine (April 12, 1937).

Keyes, Ralph. The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. St. Martin's Griffin, 2006.

Marrota, Michael E. "Hard Times Tokens." (May 31, 1994) http://www.limunltd.com/numismatica/articles/hard-times-tokens.html (accessed June 4, 2009). Originally appeared in Topic 43 of the Well Collectibles Conference.

Meriwether, Colyer. Publications of the Southern History Association, v. 4. Southern History Association, 1900.

Rulau, Russell. Hard Times Tokens: 1832-1844, 6th Ed. Krause Publications, 1996.

Shipwreck and Treasure of the S.S. Central America

Originally named the SS George Law until shortly before it sank in a hurricane, the SS Central America was a sidewheel steamship that by September 1857 was regularly shuttling passengers and cargo between Panama and New York City. The California Gold Rush had been going on for almost a decade. Both passengers and gold, in the form of coins, ingots, and nuggets, regularly traveled from California to New York. Typically the route consisted of a sidewheel steamer from San Francisco to Panama, across the isthmus via railroad, and then sidewheel steamer from Panama to New York.

On September 3, 1857, the SS Central America set out from Aspinwall, Panama to New York City with a one night stopover in Havana, Cuba. The ship was carrying over 400 passengers and crew, and about $2.6 million dollars worth of gold onboard. Later, that treasure would prove to have a numismatic value estimated at over $100 million.

The Storm

On September 12, 1857, the ship sank about 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina during a hurricane. Of the over 400 passengers and crew, it is believed that only 153 survived which included all of the women and all but one of the children. The only child to die was a boy who refused to get into a lifeboat without his older brother being allowed to join him.

Among the survivors were Ansel and Addie Easton. They were newlyweds having recently been married in California on August 20 and headed to New York on their honeymoon. A hundred and forty years later, the Easton’s leather-bound trunk would be recovered intact. In it were clothing, pistols, jewelry, and other items. Some of Mr. Easton’s shirts were custom-made with his name marked on them which identified Mr. Easton as the owner of the trunk.

The Discovery

During the 1980s, Tommy Thompson, Bob Evans, and others from the Columbia-America Discovery Group located the wreck of the SS Central America. It was located in eight thousand feet of water off the coast of North Carolina. The ship’s bell forged by the Morgan Iron Works would provide positive identification that the SS Central America had indeed been found.

The Treasure

Using a robotic submersible named Nemo, the Columbia-America Discovery Group eventually hauled over 7,000 coins and several hundred gold ingots to the surface. Many of the coins and ingots were in such a well preserved state that they looked as though they had just been struck at the mint. Over 5,000 $20 gold double eagles dated 1857 from the San Francisco Mint were recovered. The large number of gem 1857-S $20 double eagles made a gem Type 1 (1850-1866 with no motto) double eagle a possibility for many collectors that previously could not have afforded one. The numismatic value of the treasure was estimated to exceed $100 million.

The Auctions

The first public offering of SS Central America treasure occurred on June 20-21, 2000 by Sotheby’s in New York having been rescheduled from December 1999 due to legal issues. The gold offered in that first sale represented the portion of the treasure that was awarded to a consortium of underwriters of the SS Central America or their successors. It consisted of a combination of gold coins, ingots, and placer gold nuggets.

A second public auction of SS Central America treasure occurred on December 14, 2000 by Christie’s in New York. The gold offered in this auction was from among the gold awarded to the Columbus-America Discovery Group and later sold to The California Gold Marketing Group led by Dwight Manley. The sale included coins, ingots, and many curious and interesting pieces that were either fused together, or still encrusted as they were found in the shipwreck.

Sources

Bowers, Q. David. A California Gold Rush History featuring the treasure from the S.S. Central America. Newport Beach: The California Gold Marketing Group, 2002.

Christie's (Firm). Gold Rush Treasures from the SS Central America in Association with Spink: auction sale December 14, 2000 at New York, New York. New York: Christie’s, 2000.

Kinder, Gary. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998.

Song, Paul and Dan Trout. Sotheby’s letter to clients, 20 May 2000.

Sotheby's (Firm). Treasures from the SS Central America, Glories of the California Gold Rush: auction sale,June 20 & 21, 2000, at New York, New York. New York: Sotheby's, 2000.

Tennessee Hoard of 19th Century U.S. Gold Coins

Everyone likes a good mystery and the Tennessee Hoard certainly fits the bill.

The Discovery!

In 1985, city workmen in Jackson, Tennessee were busy working on a downtown municipal parking lot when a bulldozer apparently unearthed a container-pot or glass jar filled with hundreds of gold coins. The gold coins were said to have been quarter eagles ($2 1/2), half eagles ($5), eagles ($10), and double eagles ($20) dated as early as the 1830s and as late as 1858. Supposedly the Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charlotte, and Dahlonega mints were all represented.

However, the exact quantities by denomination and mint mark is unknown because as soon as the coins were unearthed, the workmen made off with most of them before police could cordon off the area. Eventually, the city was able to account for some of the coins, but most had been quickly sold to gold dealers with the finders keeping everything confidential.

In the end, it has been estimated that about $4,500 face value in gold coins was recovered with a possible numismatic value in excess of $1 million. Gold dealers that evidently examined and purchased some of the hoard, reported among the hoard approximately one hundred 1853-P quarter eagles, dozens of 1854-O and 1858-O eagles, and a rare 1856-D quarter eagle. The 2007 Redbook lists an 1856-D quarter eagle in MS-60 at over $67,000 alone.

While many of the recovered coins handled by dealers were said to be high grade, others were said to have deep gouges and heavy scratches due to damage from being excavated. Others were apparently damaged from careless cleaning afterwards which left major hairlines on their surfaces.

The Mystery!

The real mystery surrounding this hoard comes from trying to determine just how the coins came to be buried in Jackson in the first place.

An early theory was that the coins may have been buried by someone trying to hide them from advancing Union troops during the Civil War.

Later, a theory that seems to have gained broad acceptance, although with no real evidence, is that the coins are the loot from a bank robbery in 1858. The story is told that a bank in Jackson was robbed and a cashier killed. The robbers made off with $8,000 of which $4,500 was said to be in gold coins. The bank robbery was never solved.

The interesting tidbit that seems to tie these coins to those of the robbery comes from the belief that the municipal parking lot was on the site of the former home of the bank's president in the 1850s. If true, the estimated amount of gold coins recovered appears to match that of the coins stolen in the robbery. This would seem to implicate that the bank president may have used the robbery as a cover to steal the gold himself and later report the missing coins as part of the robbery.

Wait! . . . Maybe the original theory was right!

I believe there is a possibility that the original theory was right. The hoard may have been hidden in order to keep it safe from advancing Union troops. There is just such a story about a woman in Jackson, Tennessee who did just that. The story appears to have been written in the late 19th or early 20th century. As far as I know, I am the only one to ever consider the following story as being associated with the Tennessee Hoard.

The story concerns the family of a Jackson plantation owner by the name of John Woolfolk (also seen as Woolfork). Apparently John died shortly before the Civil War started and left his fortune to his widow. In June 1864, as Union raiders were approaching her home, John's widow took her fortune of gold coins from her home and buried them. Later, she showed her young daughter where she buried the coins but died before she could retrieve them herself.

Some years following the war, after the daughter had become an adult, the daughter attempted to retrieve the hoard but she could not remember the location they were buried. She and her family were never able to recover the coins.

Could the Tennessee Hoard be the widow Woolfolk's gold?

While I haven't had time to investigate fully, I have checked to see that the Woolfolk theory is at least plausible.

The Woolfolks of Jackson, Tennessee

There was a large Jackson, TN, landowner named John Woolfolk and his wife Almira who were in their thirties in 1850. Living with them were probably their children and an older John Woolfolk and his wife Mildred, probably the grandparents to the children. By 1860, John and Almira have disappeared (possibly dead), while their children are living with their probable grandparents John and Mildred. John is in his 80s with Mildred at least 10 years younger.

I believe that if the story is true, Mildred is the widow in the story and the young daughter to which she shows the location of the gold is actually one of her granddaughters, possibly Elizabeth Woolfolk.

Unsolved Mysteries

How much gold was actually recovered in 1985 and who took it? Did the bank president actually steal the gold from his bank and bury it on his property? Or was the hoard the same gold buried by the widow Woolfolk to keep it out the Union raiders hands? If not, where is the Woolfolk gold today?

The Tennessee Hoard remains one of those mysteries that will probably never be solved. However, if I was a current owner of land that used to be part of the Woolfolk plantation, I guarantee I'd be out scouring that land with a metal detector.

Sources

Winter, Douglas, and Greg Lambousy, and David Ginsburg. Gold coins of the New Orleans Mint: 1839-1909. Irvine: Zyrus Press, 2006.

Bowers, Q. David. "Tennessee Treasure Mystery." (May 1, 1998). http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article292.chtml (accessed January 27, 2009).

Yore Treasures Inc., "Little Cache Sites," http://www.yoretreasures.com/yore.htm (accessed January 27, 2009). Originally published in Duffy, Howard, "Ten Little-Known Cache Sites," Treasure Magazine vol. 16, no. 4 (April 4, 1985).

Kellyco Metal Detector Superstore. "City Workers Find Pot of Gold." http://www.kellycodetectors.com/Finds/misc/pot_of_gold.htm (accessed January 27, 2009).

Shipwreck and Treasure of the S.S. New York

The SS New York was a sidewheel steamship that, during the 1840s, regularly shuttled passengers and cargo between Galveston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1846, just a few months after the Republic of Texas joined the Union as the 28th state and the start of the Mexican-American War, the SS New York set sail on September 5 from Galveston headed for New Orleans carrying 53 passengers and crew along with an estimated $40,000 - a numismatic value in the millions today - in gold and silver coins.

The Storm

Early morning on September 7 found the ship caught in the throes of a hurricane fighting to survive. Water began filling the hold through a split in the side of the
hull. As the ship began tilting, passengers and crew worked together to bail out the hold. Eventually the storm won the battle as water overtook the boilers and the fires went out. Passengers and crew grabbed anything that could float. As though the archangel Michael was announcing his arrival, a single note rang out from the ship's bell as the ship rolled one last time and sank.

The next day, 36 of the 53 passengers and crew aboard were rescued by another ship. 17 people perished including five children. A treasure in gold and silver coins sank to the bottom of the Gulf with the ship. The story of the ship's sinking was soon lost and obscured by sensational stories of battles fought in the Mexican-American War.

The Discovery

While exploring a shipwreck in 1990 that he thought was the SS New York, Louisiana resident Avery Munson found an 1827 British gold sovereign and two 1843 silver half dollars. The coins were an encouraging sign that Avery and some friends had found the remains of the SS New York. But, it would be another four years before the group found the ship's bell confirming the wreck as that of the SS New York.

The Treasure

After taking title to the shipwreck, the group of friends, now calling themselves the Gentlemen of Fortune, had recovered over 400 gold coins and over 2,000 silver coins by the end of 2007. A decade had passed since the group had first found the wreck. Now finally, a treasure with a face value of about $40,000 when the ship sank now had a numismatic value of millions to the Gentlemen of Fortune. It was finally time for the group to cash in.

The Auction

The first public offering of SS New York coins occurred on July 27, 2008. A Stack's auction offered the finest examples of the coins to collectors. The coins offered
can be viewed in the auction archives at stacks.com. (Lots 2001 - 2841) A few of the coins have been graded as the finest known example by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). A month earlier on June 16, 2008, NGC released the population report of SS New York coins.

Stack's held a second auction on July 30, 2009 offering additional coins and artifacts from from the shipwreck.

If there were any doubts about collectors placing a premium on shipwreck coins, those doubts were put to rest as the final hammer price for most of the coins well exceeded the values of similar coins without the shipwreck pedigree. The Gentlemen finally found their fortune.

Sources

"Shipwreck Yields Gold." Numismatic News vol. 57, no. 22 (May 27, 2008).

Stack's (Firm). The Collection of Samuel J. Berngard and Treasure Coins of the S.S. New York: auction sale, July 27-28, 2008, at Baltimore, Maryland. New York: Stack's, 2008.

Austin Rare Coins. "S.S. New York Steamer Rare U.S. Coins Recovered From Shipwreck." (June 19, 2008) http://shipwrecks.ws/ss_NewYork_Shipwreck.htm (accessed September 15, 2008).