SS Central America Shipwreck Artifacts Auction, Part I (December 2022)

Australian crystalline gold in quartz with brown stains, typically of jewelry quartz. 1.51 troy oz. about 30% by weight gold. Date: Country (if not

Small gold spoon, handle is 10k gold, bowl is gold plated. 4-1/8" long .75" wide bowl, .5" wide at top of handle. Engraved with &quo...

Dated Sept 16, 1849. Dateline American Fork, Sacramento River. Location; Camp 3 miles above Mormon Island. Four pages of historic information Talks ab

A very rare Prairie City, California dateline. Promissory note No. 17, datelined Prairie City, Cal., March 25th, 1854. Promise to pay $893.73 to D.B.

Rare San Francisco Wharf stock tied to the Gold Rush. Certificate No. 457, issued for 46 shares to Alfred Poett on May 1st, 1865 in San Francisco. Sig

Lot of 2. Both are related to Gold Rush SF banker and commission merchant Abel Guy. 1) Abel Guy check for $10,420 (listed in FRENCH COIN), San Francis

Choice ingot mould from John Taylor & Co., San Francisco. This is an old multi-ingot mould that allowed for small pours of gold ingots of rough...

Lot of 3. 1) Extremely rare billhead for A. Kuner, Seal Engraver & Die Sinker, No. 611 Washington Street, 3rd Floor. Dateline San Francisco, Dec...

Very rare. Pictorial lettersheet for the Tehama House, Corner Sansome and California Streets, San Francisco, G.W. Frink, Proprietor. Great large vigne

This is the only card for Coleman in this group that lists his address as 71 Wall Street. According to NY directories, this address only appears in 18

California: Its Gold and Its Inhabitants by Henry Vere Huntley. First edition published by Thomas Cautley Newby in 1856. Two volumes rebound together

This is a collection of letters from Chauncey Clark looking for gold in the Yukon Territory to his mother, brother, and sister in Rochester, New York.

4 Australian gold nuggets, 20.62 grams. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

4 Australian gold on quartz. 21.24 grams total weight. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian crystalline gold on quartz 11.76g total weight. Boot shaped gold nugget 2.8g. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Pr

Australian gold on quartz. 85.33 grams total weight, 15.7 grams gold. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian gold in quartz. Total weight 25.6g, gold by weight 15.3g. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian gold nugget. 14.3 grams weight. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian small gold nuggets, 18.83 grams. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian crystalline gold on quartz. 15.7 grams total weight. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

El Dorado County, California (printed under title). Unissued for one share, but signed by Jacob A Shorb as president and E.H. Cornwall as secretary in

Stampless cover with a straight line San Francisco postmark. Handwritten 40 for cost to mail. One page. Letter has staining and tape to keep the conte

A Tour of Duty in California; Including a Description of the Gold Region: and an Account of the Voyage Around Cape Horn; with Notices of Lower Califor

Australian crystalline gold nugget. 13.3 grams. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Australian gold on quartz. Total weight 14.87 grams. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Crystalline gold and leaf in quartz, .46 troy oz. About 70% weight by gold. Date: Country (if not USA): State: City: Provenance:

California Gold Rush genuine gold nugget. 6.7 grams. Certified natural and authentic by American Appraisal Institute. Signed appraisal certificate aff

Lot of 4: three stocks and a Water Collector's Weekly report. The American River Water and Mining Company was formed in 1854 to build a ditch to...

We have not offered this before. "West Point D., Calaveras C. Cal." (printed under title). Incorporated May 19th, 1863. No. 240, issued fo...

Extremely rare Gold Rush location. Dateline Iowa Hill, Cal., Dec. 2nd, 1855. No. 41.302, issued to TB Hotchkiss at the office of the American Express

A choice certificate. No, 1655. Issued to I.C. Woods for one share. Signed by Henry Eno (president) and E.H. Pomeroy as secretary. Not cancelled or en

This c1850's cover is for a Wells Fargo Express Steamboat. Nevada regular Wells Fargo stamp cancels 3c Pink stamp. Stamped PAID on upper right.

Very rare. $1,000 bond. No. 61. Oct. 1st, 1859. The company owes the money to A. Boody of New York and James Lawrence English of Sacramento. "B...

Beautifully engraved partially-issued certificate. No. 321. Placerville, El Dorado County, Cal. Dec. 9th, 1852. This item has been hand signed by the

Very rare. No. 618, issued for one share to Lewis Cooper on March 21st, 1856 in Philadelphia. Signed by president FN Buck and secretary William Lippin

Freeman & Co's New York & California Package Express, Successors to Adams & Co. Dateline New York, May 1st, 1856. Two cases sent fro...

San Francisco Vigilance Committee of '56 with Some Interesting Sketches of Events Succeeding 1846. Edited by Frank Meriweather Smith. Published ...

Hentsch & Berton were the successors in 1863 to Henry Hentsch's banking and assay business in San Francisco. Hentsch was born in Geneva in a...

Tables of the Value of Gold and Silver per Once Troy, at Different Degrees of Fineness. Also tables showing the net returns from gold and silver of di

Rare Treasury of the United States Second of Transfer for $10,000 to the Ast. Treasurer US at San Francisco. Dateline Washington, October 1st, 1858. S

One page letter sent from Greenway & Co. of Baltimore, Aug. 29, 1850 to Ludlow Beebee & Co. in Philadelphia. Message states that they have s...

Wow! Mailed from San Francisco. Addressed to W. H. English care of Winslow, Lanier & Co. Wall Street, New York City. Winslow, Lanier & Co. w...

State of California, Office of the Board of Examiners. Dateline Sacramento, August 15th, 1861. Issued to A. Pool for $273.33 for "his services ...

Lot of 5. These warrants tell the story of how the California state capital location was in flux during the Gold Rush. The meetings of the State Legis

This is the only clipper card for this firm in the group we received. Platt & Newton (Successors to Wm. T. Coleman & Co.), 117 Front Street....

This is the only card for Edward Mott Robinson in the collection we received for this sale. Robinson's California Line for San Francisco. The A1...

The Gold-Seeker's Manual; Being a Practical and Instructive Guide to All Persons Emigrating to the Newly Discovered Gold Regions of California b...

Report of Hon. T. Butler King of California printed by Gideon & Co. in 1850. This report relayed the first official information about the gold r...

Scenery of the Plains, Mountains, and Mines: or A Diary Kept Upon the Overland Route to California, by Way of the Great Salt Lake: Travels in the Citi

A Compilation of Spanish and Mexican Law, in Relation to Mines, and Titles to Real Estate, in Force in California, Texas, and New Mexico; and in the T

Sacramento, CA Nov. 5th, 1867 Engraved check (State Controller's Warrant), for $250, filled out in ink, signed by Controller Geo. Oulton. 5x10&q...

Colton's Traveler and Tourist's Route Book through the United States and the Canadas: Containing the Routes and Distances on the Great Lines...

A System of Mineralogy: Including an Extended Treatise on Crystallography: with an Appendix, Containing the Application of Mathematics to Crystallogra

A History of the Precious Metals, from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time; with Directions for Testing Their Purity, and Statements of Their Com

The Metallic Wealth of the United States, Described and Compared with That of Other Countries, by J.D. Whitney. Published by Lippincott, Grambo &...

105 vials with gold foil, less than 2 grams of gold in each. Date: Country (if not USA): State: City: Provenance:

Letter dated September 25, 1850, Nevada City. Nevada crossed out and Sacramento written in. Most likely letter was taken to Sacramento City as that wa

Very rare location. Second of Exchange. Dateline Ophir, Cal., May 27th, 1854. No. 9416, issued to Palmer & Baldwin for $100. Signed Wells Fargo ...

Gold Rush mining related breast or lapel pin with two authentic gold nuggets and small diamond. Gold plated. Shovel, pick, rope and sinking bucket. 2

Crystalline and leaf gold in quartz. .42 troy oz. About 50% weight by gold. Date: Country (if not USA): State: City: Provenance:

Lot of 2. Rare and important El Dorado County Gold Rush location. It was the site of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in January 1848 by Jame...

Very early and important illustration from United States House Executive Document No. 1, 30th Congress, Second Session, Richard Mason, 1848. Page is c

This is a fantastic Gold Rush era stock issued to an important historical figure. Certificate No. 1412, issued to James W. Denver on August 3rd, 1857

Extremely rare. $1,000 bond certificate issued in 1875 at San Francisco. No. 95. Signed by S. Heydenfeldt as president and L. Leavitt as secretary. No

Extremely rare. $1,000 bond certificate issued in 1875 at San Francisco. No. 99. Signed by S. Heydenfeldt as president and L. Leavitt as secretary. No

Lot of 2. Both pieces related to Nevada City assayer James J. Ott. Ott was the assayer who discovered in 1859 that the ore being mined on the Comstock

Lot of 4. All issued during the Gold Rush. Page & Bacon were a St. Louis firm that established a presence in California during the Gold Rush. Wh...

Lot of 2. 1) Certificate of Special Deposit, Bank of California, San Francisco Sep. 28, 1874. A. Austin has deposited $50,000 in US Gold Coin (over a

Lot of 2. As listed on the left side of this exchange, this banking firm was composed of numerous power players in California and New York, including:

Palmer Cook & Co. check (handwritten above Wells, Fargo & Co.). Dateline San Francisco, May 15, 1854. Issued to James King of William for $2...

"List of Lots Sold in the City of San Francisco and Purchased by Members of the Town Council." Report from Horace Hawes, Prefect of San Fr...

Funded Debt of Yuba County. No. 24, issued to Peter Decker on July 1st, 1852 for $334. Signed by Judge Henry P. Hann and county auditor Charles Lindle

Six Months in the Gold Mines: From a Journal of Three Years' Residence in Upper and Lower California. 1847-8-9. By E. Gould Buffum, Lieutenant F...

Letter signed by Phillip IV, King of Spain(1621-65) during the reign coinciding with Nuestra Senora de Atocha (Spanish: Our Lady of Atocha) a Spanish

4 Australian gold nuggets, 10.86 grams of gold. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

This is a very long three page legal sized letter written by A. Eastman. It was written at Reding Springs. Redding is 150 miles north of Sacrame

Lot of 3 different stocks (plus some photocopied research materials). 1) Flag of Our Union & Twin Consolidated Gold & Silver Mining Company....

Lot of 3 different. James W. Denver was an American politician and lawyer. He served in the California State Government (as Secretary of State from 18

Nice well defined gold leaf specimen on black quartz. Total weight 7.7g, gold weight 6.1g. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City:

Australian crystalline gold nugget, 8.71 grams. Date: Country (if not USA): Australia State: City: Provenance:

Dendritic Silver Specimen 40mm x 25mm. 9.6 grams. Beautiful branching dendritic formation with fern like, leaf-shaped crystals. Sometimes referred

Gold Rush-era Amador County! No. 63, issued for one share to WP Jones on April 2nd, 1855 in Herbertville. Signed by president BG John and secretary Sa

Lot of 2 different. Columbia, located in Tuolumne County, was founded during the Gold Rush in 1850. By 1852, there were 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general

Extra rare location. Dateline Drytown, April 14th, 1856. Receipt No. 52 for a package delivered by John Dillon to be delivered to Mrs. Ann Dillion in

Inc. in California. Location printed on the top of the certificate: Meadow Lake District, California. No. 154, issued for 160 shares to Charles W. You

Lot of 2 different. 1) Nevada County Canal Company. Incredibly rare; we had not seen one till this example popped up in the Prag Collection. Inc. Sept

From Mr. Parrott to home in Massachusetts. Stamped Sacramento City, Cal, Jan 31. Date written on letterhead. Two handstamps PAID and 40 (rate to send

Lot of 3 different. 1) 1854 City Comptroller's Office draft to HW Seale for $250 for grading and planking Beale Street. Signed by mayor CK Garri...

"Emma Frances Lode, Silver Mountain District, Mono County, California" (printed at left). Inc. December 1862. No. 226, issued for 5 shares...

Lot of 2. 1) $500. No. 223, issued to M Bennagin & Co. on July 1st, 1857 in Marysville. Signed by the Chairman Board of Supervisors and County A...

Life on the Plains and Among the Diggings; Being Scenes and Adventures of an Overland Journey to California: with Particular Incidents of the Route, M

The Life and Adventures of James W. Marshall, the Discoverer of Gold in California by George Frederic Parsons. Published in Sacramento by James W. Mar

New Varieties of Gold and Silver Coin, Counterfeit Coins, and Bullion; with Mint Values. Third edition rearranged with numerous additions. By Jacob R.

Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon by Herndon, 1854. In 1857, Captain William Lewis Herndon sacrificed his life trying to save 600 passengers and

Gold leaf in white quartz. 1.04 troy oz. About 20% weight by gold. Date: Country (if not USA): State: City: Provenance:

15 show cards with small gold nuggets. Weight approx .25g each, about 3.75g total gold. Date: Country (if not USA): State: City: Provenance:

"Office at S. B. Pelton's House in White Oak Township" (printed to left of vignette). Pilot Knob, Mud Springs and Mound Springs Mining...

Lot of 3 different. 1) Adams & Co. Second of Exchange. Handwritten Grass Valley over printed San Francisco dateline. May 20th, 1854. Issued to C...

Lot of 3. 1) Wells, Fargo & Co. Second of Exchange. Handwritten Nevada, Cal. dateline, April 27th, 1855. Issued for $100 to agent CM Mulford. En...

Very rare. Second of Exchange. Handwritten Placerville above preprinted San Francisco dateline. No. 1221, issued to Nancy Verplast on June 12, 1854. S