Watch List notes:

GREAT BRITAIN. Silver Ingot (1081.4 ounces), ca. 1940. Bombay Mint. AS CAST.
1081.4 ounces (67.59 pounds [!]). Trapezoidal shape, approximately measuring 90 x 287 x 100 mm. The top side features a circular hallmark from His Majesty's (George VI) mint at Bombay, below which reads JZ0423 / 6 / FINENESS / 999.2 / 1081.4 / OZS in six lines. Deeply toned, with some fresher hints of silver scattered throughout. Essentially as cast, though with a light degree of exposure to the sea's elements. A very RARE and interesting artifact from WWII, sunk nearly a year before the entry of the United States into the war.

In 2016 Dave Bowers' book, The SS Gairsoppa, U-101, and the Great Silver Treasure, was published, including the history given below:

The SS Gairsoppa was a British steamship which launched in 1919 and was operated by the British-India Steam Navigation Company for two decades before being pressed into duty during Britain's efforts in World War II. She departed Calcutta in December 1940 carrying 2,600 tons of pig iron, 1,765 tons of tea, and approximately 7 million ounces of silver which had been mined in India. Not wanting to stick out and become an easy target for the seemingly omnipresent U-boats under the command of Nazi Germany, the Gairsoppa joined a convoy on her return voyage from Calcutta to Liverpool. Heavy storms, however, slowed their pace, and the Gairsoppa, low on coal, was forced to leave the convoy and set her sights upon Galway, Ireland, some 300 miles to the northeast. It was in this period that she was spotted by the Germans who quickly descended upon her coordinates. Unable to reach Galway, she was torpedoed on 16 February, catching fire and sinking shortly thereafter. Her final resting place at the bottom of the ocean floor would be some three miles deep. Of the 86 crew aboard, only one, Richard Ayres, survived both the hit and the grueling attempts to be rescued---nearly two weeks after the sinking.

Given the amount of silver aboard, attempts were made to salvage the treasure, but the depth of the wreckage and the amount of weight needing to be recovered made these attempts unsuccessful. In 2012, with enough technological advancements having been made, Odyssey Marine Exploration began to salvage some of this silver, with a good deal more recovered in 2013. Though much of the silver was eventually melted down for bullion, 462 ingots, each weighing between 1000 and 1100 ounces and featuring a royal hallmark, along with a unique serial and sequence number, were discovered and set aside for the collecting community. Given the unique period of world history from which these ingots emanate along with the number of years which they spent lost to the world, their historical importance can not be overstated. A most interesting and weighty piece of WWII and exonumia.

From the Q. David Bowers Collection. Purchased on November 15, 2016 -- Dave's choice from the treasure after he wrote the book.

Due to its nature and size, this lot will be available for viewing in our California office only, and the winning bidder will pay actual shipping cost. We encourage interested bidders to contact us for delivery options and cost.

Estimate: $20000.00- $25000.00