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Coal from the Boiler Room, SSCA Treasure [162393]

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 500.00 USD
Coal from the Boiler Room, SSCA Treasure [162393]
SOLD
650.00USD+ (130.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Mar 05 @ 11:16UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Coal was used to feed the all-important boilers which powered the twin piston engines on the SSCA. The ship carried tons of coal, which under good conditions allowed them to get all the way from New York to Panama. If coal supplies ran low, major ports (such as Havana) had coaling stations where more could be purchased. Since the ship carried lots of coal, it was used as a ballast in the lowest level, the ìbelow decksî level, right on the hull. The Gold Room sat at the far aft of the below decks level (see the shipís floor plans) behind a number of coal bins, hence all of the coal seen in many of the underwater photographs of the edges of the ìgarden of gold.î The specific gravity of anthracite coal is 1.1 to 1.4. The specific gravity of water is 1.0, and by comparison, the specific gravity of granite is 2.7-2.8, and average sand is about 2.6 because of the air space between particles. Thus while the shipís hull was full of coal, it only weighed less than half of what the average rock weighed in the same amount of space ñ it is ìlight.î So as a ballast, they needed a heck of a lot!.

Provenance: SS Central America Collection