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Wednesday, 29th July 2009 (1419 views)

A 43-ounce gold ingot recovered from the wreck of the SS Central America is to be sold at auction next month.

The ingot was produced by Kellogg & Humbert and is one of 367 bars created by the assayer that were salvaged from the ship, Heritage Auction Galleries said.

It added that according to Q David Bowers, author of A California Gold Rush History, Kellogg & Humbert became one of the most well-known companies involved in Californian gold coins and ingots after the recovery of the SS Central America gold because of the "credibility" of their products.

Mr Bowers classified the 43-ounce bar as a "medium to large-size ingot" with a bright yellow colouring due to its high level of purity. The piece weighs over 3.5 pounds and contains approximately 40 ounces of pure gold.

The SS Central America sank off the Carolinas during a hurricane in 1857. It was bound for New York with a cargo of mail, as well as several tonnes of gold dust, coins, nuggets and ingots from the gold fields of the western United States.

Heritage Auction Galleries said the largest bar ever recovered from the ship was the so-called Eureka bar, which weighed 933.94 ounces and was valued in 1857 at $17,433.57 (£10,657.39).

 

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