Gold Rush - 19th Century style

Depiction of the SS Central America sinking by J Childs 1857

Stories of sunken treasure and pots of gold lying at the bottom of the ocean keep us captivated from childhood to our adult life.

In 1992, LIFE Magazine reported that Tommy Thompson's success in recovering the lost treasure from the shipwrecked SS Central America was, without question, 'the greatest treasure ever found'.

SS Central America, a steamship also known as the 'Ship of Gold', is reported to have carried over a third of the total output of the California Gold Rush between 1852 to 1857.

On September 3rd 1957 the 280 foot steamship left Central America for New York with passengers, crew and heavily laden with gold. The cargo included $20 denomination 'Double Eagle' coins, ingots and gold bars.

The ship sank in a hurricane with severe loss of life and the treasure along with it - the loss shook confidence in an already shaky US economy and further contributed to a financial crisis in the United States known as 'The Panic of 1857' which eventually spread to Europe.

In 1986 a discovery team, led by Thompson, located the ship's bell and recovered the treasure which, after resting on the ocean floor for over 100 years, were in nearly mint condition.

A percentage of the find was eventually awarded to the discovery team after years of litigation.

The total value recovered was estimated at up to $150 million.

The largest specimen of the treasure, the 'Eureka' bar,  was acquired for a record $8m in 2001. It is the largest gold bar to come out of the California Gold Rush and has the highest weight and stamped value.

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