0
Finest Known
Order Today: 888-900-9948 Login
  • Coins For Sale
    • Small Denomination
      • Copper Type Coins
      • Nickel Type Coins
      • Three Cent Silver
    • Early Coinage
      • Early American Silver
      • Early American Gold
      • American Colonials
      • Ancient Greek Coins
      • Ancient Roman Coins
    • Silver Coinage
      • Seated Liberty Silver
      • Silver Barber Coins
      • 1916 Silver Liberties
      • Morgan Silver Dollars
      • Peace Dollars
    • Gold Coinage
      • Liberty Head Gold
      • Indian Princess Gold
      • Indian Gold Coins
      • Gold Double Eagles
    • Other
      • Territorials Items
      • Commemoratives
      • Treasure
      • Utah Goldbacks
      • Nevada Goldbacks
      • Other
  • Shop By Category
    • Blank
      • $20 Double Eagle
      • $10 Gold Eagle
      • $5 Half Eagle
      • $1, $2.50 & $3 Gold
      • Silver Dollars
      • Other Silver
      • Cents-Nickels
    • Blank
      • Colonial
      • Territorial
      • Commemoratives
      • Ship Of Gold
      • Rare Ingots
      • Treasure
      • Civil War Money
    • Blank
      • Key Date Rarities
      • Finest Known
      • Top-100 Greatest
      • Proof Grade
      • Proof-Like
      • CAC Sticker
      • VAM Dollars
    • Blank
      • Best Values
      • Featured Items
      • Internet Specials
  • Top-10 to Buy Now
    • Blank
      • Buy Key Date Rare Coins
      • Buy Type I $20 Liberties
      • Buy Carson City Silver Dollars
      • Buy GSA Holder Silver Dollars
      • Buy SS Central America Coins
    • Blank
      • Buy Finest Known Specimens
      • Buy $2.50 Quarter Eagle Indians
      • Buy Private and Territorial Issues
      • Buy Walking Liberty Half Dollars
      • Buy Rare Gold Monetary Ingots
  • How To Purchase Best
    • Blank
      • 14 Reasons to Put Money in Money
      • Why Quality Coins over Quantity
      • Why Collect Morgan Silver Dollar
      • Why Purchase Indian Head Gold
      • 3 Most Beautiful Silver Liberties
    • Blank
      • Buy Early U.S. Gold Coinage
      • Why Purchase Proof Coins
      • Buy Top-100 Greatest US Rare Coins
      • Civil War Money Introductory Sets
      • Books, Catalogs and Literature
  • TV Specials
    • $49 Morgan Silver Dollar Offer
    • Special 20+1 Silver Dollars
    • Special 50+1 Silver Dollars
  • Latest News
  • 0
Order Today: 888-900-9948
Close
  • Coins For Sale
    • Small Denomination
      • Copper Type Coins
      • Nickel Type Coins
      • Three Cent Silver
    • Early Coinage
      • Early American Silver
      • Early American Gold
      • American Colonials
      • Ancient Greek Coins
      • Ancient Roman Coins
    • Silver Coinage
      • Seated Liberty Silver
      • Silver Barber Coins
      • 1916 Silver Liberties
      • Morgan Silver Dollars
      • Peace Dollars
    • Gold Coinage
      • Liberty Head Gold
      • Indian Princess Gold
      • Indian Gold Coins
      • Gold Double Eagles
    • Other
      • Territorials Items
      • Commemoratives
      • Treasure
      • Utah Goldbacks
      • Nevada Goldbacks
      • Other
  • Shop By Category
    • Blank
      • $20 Double Eagle
      • $10 Gold Eagle
      • $5 Half Eagle
      • $1, $2.50 & $3 Gold
      • Silver Dollars
      • Other Silver
      • Cents-Nickels
    • Blank
      • Colonial
      • Territorial
      • Commemoratives
      • Ship Of Gold
      • Rare Ingots
      • Treasure
      • Civil War Money
    • Blank
      • Key Date Rarities
      • Finest Known
      • Top-100 Greatest
      • Proof Grade
      • Proof-Like
      • CAC Sticker
      • VAM Dollars
    • Blank
      • Best Values
      • Featured Items
      • Internet Specials
  • Top-10 to Buy Now
    • Blank
      • Buy Key Date Rare Coins
      • Buy Type I $20 Liberties
      • Buy Carson City Silver Dollars
      • Buy GSA Holder Silver Dollars
      • Buy SS Central America Coins
    • Blank
      • Buy Finest Known Specimens
      • Buy $2.50 Quarter Eagle Indians
      • Buy Private and Territorial Issues
      • Buy Walking Liberty Half Dollars
      • Buy Rare Gold Monetary Ingots
  • How To Purchase Best
    • Blank
      • 14 Reasons to Put Money in Money
      • Why Quality Coins over Quantity
      • Why Collect Morgan Silver Dollar
      • Why Purchase Indian Head Gold
      • 3 Most Beautiful Silver Liberties
    • Blank
      • Buy Early U.S. Gold Coinage
      • Why Purchase Proof Coins
      • Buy Top-100 Greatest US Rare Coins
      • Civil War Money Introductory Sets
      • Books, Catalogs and Literature
  • TV Specials
    • $49 Morgan Silver Dollar Offer
    • Special 20+1 Silver Dollars
    • Special 50+1 Silver Dollars
  • Latest News
  • Account Login

First Release of Ship of Gold Ingots Reported Brisk

Rare Coin News

March 16, 2001 Rare Coin News Monaco Rare Coins

First SS Central America Ingot Sales Reported “Brisk”

The opportunity to proudly possess unique numismatic items that were last owned by California Gold Rush miners has resulted in a fast sell-out of nearly three dozen historic gold ingots from the cargo of the fabled side wheel steamer, SS Central America. That ship was carrying tons of gold rush coins and gold bars to New York City when it sank in a hurricane in September 1857. The sinking and subsequent recovery are the subjects of a recent best-selling book, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, by Gary Kinder.

In the first phase of the Central America Gold Ingot Program, 33 assayers’ bars were sold in less than 72 hours for more than $2 million, according to the California Gold Marketing Group of Newport Beach, California. The California Gold Rush ingots ranged in size from 9 ounces to 158 ounces, and prices for individual bars ranged from $20,000 to more than $200,000 each.

“I’m pleasantly surprised at how brisk the sales were. People have been waiting over ten years to purchase the bars. No two are the same. They are unique pieces of American treasure that never were part of such famous collections as Eliasberg, Garrett or Norweb because these ingots were not previously available to anyone,” said Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of California Gold Marketing Group.

The partnership acquired more than $100 million of the SS Central America treasure in 1999 from the Columbus-America Discovery Group, the team that discovered and recovered the gold. The ingots and gold coins comprising the treasure were retrieved from the ocean bottom in the late 1980’s where they had lain for over 130 years. But because of litigation over the ownership of the treasure, these items only started to slowly enter the numismatic marketplace in February 2000 under a marketing program established by Manley.

The first phase of ingot sales included examples from all five of the notable San Francisco area assayers whose bars were found in the cargo: Blake & Co.; Kellogg & Humbert; Henry Hentsch; Justh & Hunter; and Harris & Marchand.

“The first ingots went on sale January 15 and all 33 were sold out by the morning of the 18th,” said Manley. “Collectors recognize the extreme rarity of these pieces.”

A “Ship of Gold” exhibition featuring $20 million of the treasure was on display in January and February at the California Historical Society in San Francisco and March 8 – 10 at the American Numismatic Association’s National Money Show(TM) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The exhibition can next be seen March 24 through June 30 at the Durham Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, Nebraska and August 8 – 12 at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money in Atlanta, Georgia.

The second phase of the ingot sales program is underway now. Monaco Financial is the premier authorized SS Central America ingot dealer. For additional information on acquiring rarities from the SS Central America treasure, contact your Monaco Financial representative at 888-900-9948.


  • Newsletter
  • Be Among the First to Know of Breaking News and Special Offers on Amazing Rare Coins.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

For a confidential, personal consultation on buying or selling specific rare coins, call Monaco Rare Coins today: 888-900-9948

Free Gold Rush Treasure Catalog
Sell Your Coins to Monaco Rare Coins

Archives by Year

  • 2018 (3)
  • 2017 (2)
  • 2016 (9)
  • 2015 (10)
  • 2014 (5)
  • 2013 (4)
  • 2012 (12)
  • 2011 (12)
  • 2010 (7)
  • 2009 (13)
  • 2008 (8)
  • 2007 (3)
  • 2006 (5)
  • 2005 (10)
  • 2004 (8)
  • 2003 (1)
  • 2002 (6)
  • 2001 (6)
  • 2000 (4)
  • 1999 (7)
  • 1998 (259)
  • Back to Blog
  • Prev
  • Next
FOR MORE INFORMATION
888-900-9948
Contact Us
Sell Your Coins
Payment Methods
About Monaco
Terms of Sale
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
© 2021 Monaco Rare Coins
All Rights Reserved.
Facebook