These gold ingots were recovered from the wreckage of the S.S. Central America steamship after sitting at the bottom of the ocean off the Carolinas for more than 150 years. I attended an exhibit today where some of the $50 million worth of gold bars and coins were on display for the first time since they were retrieved in 2014.
The ship went down in a hurricane in 1857 as it traveled from Panama to New York, carrying it's California gold and some 600 passengers. Only 150 were rescued, making this one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history. Not to mention the lost fortune in gold. There was one pouch recovered that held 9,000 gold dimes. Apparently, in those days, the sailors were paid 10 cents a day!
Since the canal hadn't been built and transcontinental trains didn't run until 1863, the only way to bring the gold from San Francisco was to steamboat it to Panama, then haul it overland to the Caribbean side where another steamship was waiting to take it and its passengers to NYC. It took a month to make the entire voyage. But that beat sailing around the tip of South America which took 89 days. Here's a link to the story on CNBC if you're interested.
What a fascinating back story, and how cool to see the gold from the ship. Times were certainly a lot harder then. In the image, the sheen of the gold comes through, as well as its discoloration from those years under the sea. Thanks for sharing the link!
