Question about SSCA Justh & Hunter Ingot certification

lermish · March 19, 2026 4:20PM

This lovely ingot is up for sale at Heritage next week and is currently at $90k hammer which , with BP, represents roughly $30k premium over melt.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/s.s.-central-america-gold-ingots/justh-and-hunter-gold-ingot-pcgs-genuine-1860-ounces/a/1391-3309.s

Why is the date (1855-1858)? The SS Central America went down September 12, 1857. Why didn't PCGS date this (1855-1857)?

As far as I can tell, this is the only ingot under the PCGS#967311 which means (if I am correct) that the spec number was created for this ingot. Or, if it's a catch-all spec number, why didn't they create a new one for this bar?

It's a minor point but, since the label is not pedigreed SSCA, an important one (IMO) that should not have been missed on this expensive of an item.

jmlanzaf · March 19, 2026 4:51PM

Didn't you answer your own question? Since it is not pedigreed by PCGS to the SSCA, they used the generic dates for all the issues.

lermish · March 19, 2026 5:03PM

@jmlanzaf said:
Didn't you answer your own question? Since it is not pedigreed by PCGS to the SSCA, they used the generic dates for all the issues.

Perhaps...but did PCGS really not know the provenance of this piece? There are not many of them and it's quite an expensive item.

jmlanzaf · March 19, 2026 5:28PM

@lermish said:

@jmlanzaf said:
Didn't you answer your own question? Since it is not pedigreed by PCGS to the SSCA, they used the generic dates for all the issues.

Perhaps...but did PCGS really not know the provenance of this piece? There are not many of them and it's quite an expensive item.

Perhaps the submitter didn't request the provenance or provide the documentation? That happens all the time with provenance as well as things like errors or varieties. If you don't request it and pay for attribution, they don't make any effort to provide it.

Smudge · March 19, 2026 5:33PM

Anyone buying that would almost certainly research it, and know what they were getting.

lermish · March 19, 2026 5:39PM

@jmlanzaf said:

@lermish said:

@jmlanzaf said:
Didn't you answer your own question? Since it is not pedigreed by PCGS to the SSCA, they used the generic dates for all the issues.

Perhaps...but did PCGS really not know the provenance of this piece? There are not many of them and it's quite an expensive item.

Perhaps the submitter didn't request the provenance or provide the documentation? That happens all the time with provenance as well as things like errors or varieties. If you don't request it and pay for attribution, they don't make any effort to provide it.

I'm not 100% positive on this but I'm fairly confident that the only surviving examples of this ingot were recovered from the ssca. I don't think there are any NON shipwreck examples.

lermish · March 19, 2026 5:40PM

@Smudge said:
Anyone buying that would almost certainly research it, and know what they were getting.

I agree but that doesn't mean that the label shouldn't be accurate.

LJenkins11 · March 19, 2026 5:48PM

Listed on page 21 of this digitized publication. The second link is a 28 page PDF of not just the various ingots and serials but other gold recovered.

https://finestknown.com/california-gold-rush-monetary-ingots/#tab_justh-&-hunter

https://finestknown.com/wp-content/uploads/Finest-Known_14_SSCA-Ship-of-Gold-Catalog-Brochure.pdf

cccoins · March 20, 2026 11:50PM

If I owned it, I would break it out of the slab to touch and feel it. The holder does nothing for it.

Question about SSCA Justh & Hunter Ingot certification

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