Ship of Gold Coins... Sale Rumors and Updates
The Ship of Gold Display wasn't that big, but it was impressive. The "set" was built to look like the side of a ship with "portholes" you could look into and see coins in various states of conservation and there was a little room to the side with information about the ship and an impressive stack of ingots in a big glass display.
I suppose when some of the photo-heavy show blog posts come out, we'll see more photos, but I took one picture because I thought that PCGS' special holders were interesting. Each has a little capsule of gold dust included along with the coin. Presumably the coin and cert numbers are on the back, though only the fronts were visible.
The coin at the far back center is an 1857-S $3 in 67! When I saw that, I was thinking that there were only a few of that issue even known in MS, and looking at CoinFacts, I was right. There was a single 62+ and a single 64... now this coin. CoinFacts also conveniently has a TrueView of it:
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From the above TrueView, we can infer that these SS Central America coins have certification numbers that look like 5500xxxx, so you can check out some of the coins by going to, for example, https://pcgs.com/cert/55000001, which shows a 1856-S Type 2 G$1 in 63+ (which is in the very upper left corner of my photo above).
Looks like there are sixteen graded coins found via cert verification on PCGS.com. After that, the cert. #s error out:
55000001 - 1856-S G$1 63+ (2/3)
55000002 - 1856-S $2.50 62PL (1/0)
55000003 - 1857-S $2.50 64 (2/0)
55000004 - 1857-S $3 67 (1/0)
55000005 - 1849-C $5 61 (8/7)
55000006 - 1855-O $5 62 (1/0)
55000007 - 1856-O $5 63 (1/0)
55000008 - 1857-S $5 66 (1/0)
55000009 - 1853/'2' $10 61 (3/0)
55000010 - 1857-S $10 64+ (1/0)
55000011 - 1851-O $20 55 (48/35)
55000012 - 1852-O $20 55 (43/62)
55000013 - 1855 $20 62 (6/3)
55000014 - 1855-S $20 S Tilt Left 63 (1/0)
55000015 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 63+ (2/1861)
55000016 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 65+ (5/144)
Quite a few new finest known, that 55-O $5 is rare in any grade.
Latin American Collection
That 57-S $3 will be mine!!
Dwight Manley is marketing genius. This ship will attract new collectors for sure.
Nice
Great write-up including pics...and thanks for the info...I was wondering about that...according to the salvage company's original inventory lists there are two high grade 57-S $3s for #specialist...and many more in lesser grades...I'll take an AU58!!!!
Will those holders fit it a blue box ?
Thanks for sharing your picture, otherwise I would never have seen it, I appreciate it.
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https://www.pcgs.com/shipofgold
PCGS Vice President Mark Stephenson holds one of the S.S. Central America "Ship Of Gold" Gold Coins at Long Beach Expo at Long Beach Convention Center
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
Those are very nice slabs.... Great marketing device.... and makes a very nice display for collectors. Cheers, RickO
The quarter eagle listed as PL---does PCGS LIST PROOF LIKE for gold?
amazing, thanks for sharing !
Do any of you know why there are only 16 graded coins ? I was expecting more like 1000...
And what happened to this crazily tones 1857-S Double eagle, they advertized ?
Coin was a best at MS-64 Pogue and then Wham, a lovely 67 from the deep! Can't wait to watch the auction on that baby!
Many nights dreams upcoming..................what a thrill to have been the first to see them on the bottom of the ocean!
on second thought, I will buy all these for sure:
55000001 - 1856-S G$1 63+ (2/3)
55000002 - 1856-S $2.50 62PL (1/0)
55000003 - 1857-S $2.50 64 (2/0)
55000004 - 1857-S $3 67 (1/0)
55000005 - 1849-C $5 61 (8/7)
55000006 - 1855-O $5 62 (1/0)
55000007 - 1856-O $5 63 (1/0)
55000008 - 1857-S $5 66 (1/0)
55000009 - 1853/'2' $10 61 (3/0)
55000010 - 1857-S $10 64+ (1/0)
55000011 - 1851-O $20 55 (48/35)
55000012 - 1852-O $20 55 (43/62)
55000013 - 1855 $20 62 (6/3)
55000014 - 1855-S $20 S Tilt Left 63 (1/0)
55000015 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 63+ (2/1861)
55000016 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 65+ (5/144)
These might just be a special run that they prepared for the Long Beach exhibit. There were 15 in the case, and I can match up 13 of them with this list, with the two bottom corner labels out of the shot... the bottom left coin looks like a 1856 half eagle, so that's probably coin #7 (56-O $5).
I enjoyed the display as well. The first mates weren’t bad either
One of the nice things about these holders is that they will never have to be regraded and the gold dust is a nice touch. I’ll be in the mix on at least one of these coins
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
PCGS has said in the few teaser videos that the whole deal isn't done yet, so not conserved/graded yet. This group was probably just one group that was finished so they displayed it. As for the cool toned 57-S who knows.
Andrew Blinkiewicz-Heritage
Ship of Gold video on the PCGS main page says over 3000 coins graded.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
They don't normally, though they did on the first round of SS Central America coins. Don't recall if it has been done for any other coins than these and the Morgan dollar series. Below is a link to a good article about them on coinweek.com.
I would think eventually PCGS might do this for all series. Not sure why they are waiting. But they used to say they would never holder problem coins either and that changed.
.
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Prooflike 1857-S Double Eagle Gold Coins from the SS Central America Shipwreck
https://coinweek.com/us-coins/us-gold-coins/prooflike-1857-s-double-eagle-gold-coins-ss-central-america-shipwreck/
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
One pic I took, after I wiped off the drool.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Great coins and nicely displayed in those cool holders.
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Another one if you can stand it...
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
With @ElmerFusterpuck's pics, I think we have now covered all the "portholes" and the wide shot of the whole "ship." Anyone take a pic of the stack of ingots in the little room to the right? I think that's the only thing we are missing...
Did someone say ingots?
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
That is a great display. Thanks to all for the photos. After seeing so much gold I think I have "yellow (gold) fever".
Any idea how the sale of these will be handled? TIA
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I liked it. Whoever put it together deserves a pat on the back.
Thank you for the photos! Spectacular.
Thanks for the pictures.
What are those coins soaking in, motor oil?
The ship had a load of coal and according to Bob Evans that coal pretty much spread over everything after the ship sunk. He was mentioning a strong smell when these artifacts were being pulled up.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Edited to add: images/certs back up as of 3/10/18.
Looks like the 16 coins that were in the Ship of Gold "porthole" #4 at Long Beach -- and were identified by reverse engineering their cert #s from CoinFacts links -- have now been removed from the certification number database. Also, the 1857-S $3 TrueView, as displayed above, has now been removed from the 1857-S $3 CoinFacts entry.
55000001 - 1856-S G$1 63+ (2/3)
55000002 - 1856-S $2.50 62PL (1/0)
55000003 - 1857-S $2.50 64 (2/0)
55000004 - 1857-S $3 67 (1/0)
55000005 - 1849-C $5 61 (8/7)
55000006 - 1855-O $5 62 (1/0)
55000007 - 1856-O $5 63 (1/0)
55000008 - 1857-S $5 66 (1/0)
55000009 - 1853/'2' $10 61 (3/0)
55000010 - 1857-S $10 64+ (1/0)
55000011 - 1851-O $20 55 (48/35)
55000012 - 1852-O $20 55 (43/62)
55000013 - 1855 $20 62 (6/3)
55000014 - 1855-S $20 S Tilt Left 63 (1/0)
55000015 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 63+ (2/1861)
55000016 - 1857-S $20 Spiked Shield 65+ (5/144)
It was a pretty neat display. The public seemed to enjoy it, also. And it was very well staffed.....
As impressive as it was, and in my personal opinion only, it paled in comparison to the Tyrant Collection also on display at the show. WOW.
The unofficial scuttlebutt at the show of several well-known gold coin dealers that I talked to is that the coins would likely be disbursed through a small group of "tangible asset" type companies' retail channels and that it would likely all be completed before the next Long Beach show (June). There has been nothing said officially that I've heard.
Thanks to all who posted the pics I did not go, even though I am within close driving distance....
I went the first time they had the Ship of Gold display years ago...got to handle some ingots...
I think that Larry Lee of Museum Services, designed the Ship of Gold...I lost touch with him
some time ago...I love the leather bags filled with dust and nuggets...and the high grade $3's
recovered this time around....
Did anyone download any of the TrueViews other than the 1857-S $3 (posted above) before they went poof?
This one was PMed to me by @burdell. It's an image of "#55000010," 1857-S $10 PCGS MS64+ (1/0). I was really hoping someone downloaded the PL $2.50 or some of the $5s... anyone?
Are my eyes deceiving me? How does that escape a "Genuine" holder with the multitude of vertical scratches on the reverse?
Those are die polish lines, not scratches... note how they are in the fields but don't continue into/through the devices.
Thanks for the observation. Perhaps it is just the magnification, but those lines look more distracting than some of the hairline scratches from cleaning that used to bodybag, and now relegate to "Genuine" some others.
Die polish lines not scratches...amazing how they are able to restore these coins to "factory fresh"...anyone hear anything about a sale date?
@jonruns - I haven't seen anything official yet. This is what I heard at the show:
I see that U.S. Coins is now a partner...maybe that means they might be one of the distributors??
I understand there is already a line of well heeled collectors for the top coins. Bummer
I had a feeling that was going to happen after I heard “distribution partners” instead of “auction.” Agree, bummer.
I love that $10
An auction would have been fun
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mark me down for a that sucks. If true I hope the PCGS Ship of Gold sinks ; )
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
To be expected...just like with the Admiral I'll let the big guys fight over the condition census 1840 and I'll be happy with the VF20...LOL
If the experience with the first SS Central America offering repeats itself, there will likely be some nice coins available in about 18-24 months, possibly even at a slightly better price. This will be especially true if some of the "asset management" marketing companies help to disburse this grouping as "investments" to non-collectors.