An 1835 Quarter Gold Eagle NGC AU Shipwreck from 1846 SS New York

Up for sale is a rare 1835 Quarter Gold Eagle coin that has been certified by NGC as Almost Uncirculated. It was recovered from the shipwreck of the SS New York from 1846, adding a historical significance to the coin. With a denomination of $2.50, this gold coin was minted in 1835, making it a valuable collectible piece for numismatists and history enthusiasts interested in pre-1933 United States coinage. Offering a seldom offered pre-war gold coin from the wreck of the SS New York, we are including a book on the saga: The Treasure Ship SS New York, Her Story 1837 – 1846, and including its presentation box: SS New York, Gentlemen of Fortune written by Q. David Bowers.

This example has been graded by NGC as Shipwreck effect (C) AU. According to NGC grading standards, it is a coin displaing moderate disturbence to the surface from exposure to salt water while possessing some eye appeal for a recovery specimen with AU grade being in almost uncirculated condition. Finally, due to the low number of gold coins recovered from the SS New York, we consider this coin to present a tremendous buying opportunity.

The SS New York was a sidewheel steamship of 160.5 feet in length. launched in New York City in 1837 under the direction of Charles Morgan and others. It was running coastwise from New York City to Charleston, then sent to the Republic of Texas, formed in 1836. At the time Galveston was the biggest town in Texas and had the best seaport on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The SS New YOrk shuttled between New York city and Galveston along with her sister ship the SS Columbia, carrying passengers and cargo both ways. After departing Galveston on September 5, 1846, it was foggy with light wind, but unexpectidly stiff winds and high sees arose. Then weather conditions worsened turing into a full-fledged hurricane. On the morning of September 6, the heavy seas somewhat abated and captain John D. Phillips ordered the trip resumed. Then suddenly the winds rose again, the anchor was dropped and the ship was battling mountainous waves. The ship eventually broke admitting water into the hull and passengers and crew grabbed stray wooden parts and hoped for the best. Eventually most crew and passengers were rescued, but 18 lives were lost along with the ship’s cargo lost in the sea about 50 miles out of Galveston. In the 1980’s, a person by the name of Avery Munson, from the town of New Iberia in Louisiana, became interested in sunken wreck. After diving for many years and during a dive in 1990, he was able to find an 1827 British gold soverign of king George IV, and $2.5 dated 1843. The ship’s bell was found in 1994 with New Yoirk letters on it and the wreck was located. By the end of 2007, remnants of the ship’s safe were found encasing compact msses of coins held together with fused sand, mud, and silt. Slightly over 400 gold coins were brought to the surface, and slightly over 2000 silver coins. The Numismatic Conservation Service, a sister company of the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC), was enlisted to conserve the pieces.

The coin we are offering here is one of those coins.

The significance of the SS New York find, is that it joins just a handful of other ships recovered, but with a much smaller number of coins making any of those gold coins more elusive and tougher to locate and buy. Indeed these special treasure ships carrying U.S. gold can be counted on the fingers of one hand. They are in date order: The SS Yankee Blade which sank off coast of Santa Barbara, California in 1854, with several hundred 1854-S double eagles recovered in the 1970s. The SS Central America, lost at sea off the coast of North Carolina in 1857, yielded 7500 coins and 400 gold ingots. The SS Brother Jonathan, sank off the coast in California in 1865, yielded about 1200 coins mostly double eagles. The SS Republic sank in the Atlantic off the coast of Georgia, yielded several thousand gold coins, primarily higher denominations. Each of these ships were from a later era (when double eagles first minted for circulation in 1850). In contrast, the SS New York was from an earlier time and contains an entirely different mix of treasure, also in terms of the number of gold coins found, the SS New York coins are rarer than those from the Central America, Brother Jonathan, and Republic

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