2006

Gold Coin Vest, 2014 Recovery, SS Central America Treasure [159466]

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Gold Coin Vest, 2014 Recovery, SS Central America Treasure [159466]
SOLD
1,000.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Mar 04 @ 13:07UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Handmade gold coin vest, sealed in two places with red sealing wax recovered from the Purser's safe found in the S.S. Central America shipwreck debris field. Vest or heavy shirt with sleeve or arm hole lining removed. Three buttonholes with three buttons present which suggests a vest. The material is heavy, almost a denim or canvas. The owner carefully stitched about five vertical columns in the right and left front panel areas from the inside (not visible on the outside). They are approximately 2.25" wide and about 5-6" long. Additionally, a thick bag, which had been crudely cut/torn into a flat fabric piece for wrapping the pokes, bearing the words" "SIIJ?/17/ARMY/ TJCI/3Y'd" has been crudely hand-sewn onto the top portion of the vest. These compartments were packed full of 134 gold double- eagle coins, while the canvas bag area held eight nugget pokes. When full, this vest probably weighed about thirty pounds. The entire lot was tied up tightly and sealed in two places. It is 20" high x 14" wide plus the canvas at about 17 x 8". It has the appearance from the area of attachment at the lower neck, that the canvas bag was inside the upper back, again not visible from the outside. The gold coins, nuggets, and gold dust within the vest were subject to the Court Order sale and distribution of proceeds of the gold. As such, all of the gold in this vest was sold after the 2014 recovery. Vests carrying gold coins and nuggets have been discussed throughout Western history, but actually seeing an original piece such as the one here is a whole other matter. This is a unique piece to the owner, who carefully constructed it, probably wore it as he boarded the SS Sonora in San Francisco, took it off and checked it in with the Purser, who would have sealed it right in front of the man, then placed it in the safe for the voyage to New York. A vest of this nature tells another story: that our man was leaving California, possibly for good, carrying not only his full bankroll in US $20s, but his recently mined gold that he had not had time to convert to ingots or coin. In short, the vest may have represented his entire life savings. It is a time capsule treasure, in and of itself.

Provenance: SS Central America Collection