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FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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S.S. Central America Gold Bars
Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot. 34.94 Ounces. CAGB-545. Gold was discovered in California in late 1848 and over the next decade the region experienced an unprecedented supply of gold ore coupled with inadequate facilities to convert gold dust into spendable coin form. Local merchants all had scales in their establishments to accept gold dust. Predictably dust varied in fineness, but it was generally accepted at $16 per ounce. Pure bullion gold had a value of $18 per ounce in San Francisco, but this was a deduction of $2.67 from the price of the same pure gold at the Philadelphia Mint. Thus, the incentive for many to convert gold dust into ingots and ship larger quantities of these ingots to the East Coast. Generally, this was not a risky proposition, but in hurricane season the risk increased dramatically in the South Atlantic. Luck ran out on various shippers of gold ingots, whose plans for a higher return by shipping gold ingots eastward disappeared when a hurricane struck the S.S. Central America, and on September 12, 1857 slipped beneath the waves in a ferocious storm. For 121 years the vast fortune in gold that was lost that night lay on the seabed along with the rotting hull of the Central America. When salvaged in 1988, Kellogg & Humbert ingots represented both the largest number and the greatest value of all the private ingots that went down on the ship.
This is a medium size ingot. It is thick and nearly square. Most of the relevant information about the ingot is contained on the top side, but the company hallmark is stamped on the right side. The top reads: No 715 / 34.94 Oz / 855 FINE / $617.54. The ingot measures 43 mm x 53 mm x 28 mm. Slight remnants of rust from the ship's iron hull are seen on the four sides and back, but the top side is free from rust incrustation and bright yellow-gold.
Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot. 34.94 Ounces. CAGB-545. Gold was discovered in California in late 1848 and over the next decade the region experienced an unprecedented supply of gold ore coupled with inadequate facilities to convert gold dust into spendable coin form. Local merchants all had scales in their establishments to accept gold dust. Predictably dust varied in fineness, but it was generally accepted at $16 per ounce. Pure bullion gold had a value of $18 per ounce in San Francisco, but this was a deduction of $2.67 from the price of the same pure gold at the Philadelphia Mint. Thus, the incentive for many to convert gold dust into ingots and ship larger quantities of these ingots to the East Coast. Generally, this was not a risky proposition, but in hurricane season the risk increased dramatically in the South Atlantic. Luck ran out on various shippers of gold ingots, whose plans for a higher return by shipping gold ingots eastward disappeared when a hurricane struck the S.S. Central America, and on September 12, 1857 slipped beneath the waves in a ferocious storm. For 121 years the vast fortune in gold that was lost that night lay on the seabed along with the rotting hull of the Central America. When salvaged in 1988, Kellogg & Humbert ingots represented both the largest number and the greatest value of all the private ingots that went down on the ship.
This is a medium size ingot. It is thick and nearly square. Most of the relevant information about the ingot is contained on the top side, but the company hallmark is stamped on the right side. The top reads: No 715 / 34.94 Oz / 855 FINE / $617.54. The ingot measures 43 mm x 53 mm x 28 mm. Slight remnants of rust from the ship's iron hull are seen on the four sides and back, but the top side is free from rust incrustation and bright yellow-gold.