SS Central America : The Gold Rush and Gold Dust

James Wilson Marshall squinted against the sun as he stood ankle deep in the American River, cool water washing away the blistering heat of the California territory. The sunlight sparkled off the surface of the serene river. As he admired the stones lying near his feet, something caught the light and held it. Scratching his head, James took a knee and plunged his hand into the water. When his open palm crested the river’s surface, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Glittering yellow metal glinted back at him. One word whooped out of his lungs.

“Eureka!”

Marshall’s accidental discovery of gold on January 24, 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush of 1849, which forever changed the landscape of the Western U.S.A. Before James plucked that gold nugget from the flowing rivers of what would soon become the new El Dorado, California was barely a territory. It was a concession to the U.S. in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War as dictated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed only a few days after Marshall’s discovery and before word got out. But in December of 1848, when President James K. Polk announced to the world that there really was gold in California, the frenzy began.

People came from everywhere: Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America, Mexico, and that’s just to name a few. Whereas the population in California had been only a rough few hundred when Marshall struck gold, by the end of 1849, it had grown to over 100,000 prospectors, miners, hustlers, dream-chasers, treasure-hunters, and businessmen of all kinds. Gold was ripe for the taking and everyone wanted a piece. With the majority of the newly founded San Francisco’s population pulling gold nuggets and dust out of their pockets, they developed their own system of paying for goods and services. In the early days, gold miners carried vials of gold dust casually, weighing out pinches of the stuff to pay for anything they might need. It wasn’t the most reliable system, but it worked, and even in the later years of the Rush when California gold was shipped to New York to be minted into U.S. coinage, mostly the gold dust didn’t make the trip. Too small an amount to be worth it, they figured.

When the SS Central America, a U.S Mail Steamship in her fourth year of service, went down in a massive ocean storm 160 miles off the coast of South Carolina, she carried most of her passengers and all of their belongings to the floor of the ocean. Down there, in the bone-chilling temperatures and darkness, the perfect ecosystem for the preservation of precious objects was achieved.

Gold dust, gathered from the rivers of California in 1849, traded, weighed, and measured, gifted and placed in the traveling chest of a newly married couple, transported over sea, then land and sea again, was thrown off the side of the steamship in a desperate bid for life. It sank, sank, and finally laid in a bed of soft sand. One hundred and thirty years later, bright lights attached to a specialized recovery machine named NEMO exposed the dust, vacuumed it up and transported it to land. Weighed, inspected, and carefully contained, that gold dust was bought by 7k so that we could offer you the chance to own a portion of the history that made us.

7k is proud to present a Coin Drop over a century and a half in the making...

Here's some background info for those of you who aren't familiar with the story of the S.S. Central America and her treasures.

S.S. Central America: Ship of Gold

The SS Central America: America’s Lost Treasure. In 1857, a group of passengers boarded the SS Sonora in San Francisco. They were accompanied by their most prized possessions, and in many cases that was gold. Spoils from the Gold Rush of 1849 had attracted thousands to the West, and

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Incredible, right? Now, let's get back to the coin drop! Here's how it will work:

Essentially, we have three offerings for our members to choose from. Each graded slab contains an original silver dime and pinch of gold dust recovered from the sunken S.S. Central America. The mintage year of the dimes will vary, as will the condition of the coin and dust. The pricing tiers correspond with the grade quality of each slab.

Coin #1:

S.S. Central America Liberty Dime & Gold Dust AG-Fine

Year of Issue: Various Years
Country of Issue: United States
Mint: U.S. Mint
Face Value: $0.10
Coin Weight: 2.67 grams
Metal Purity: 0.900
Metal Composition: 90% Silver 10% Copper
Features: Shipwreck Dime and Pinch of Gold

The 1857 sinking of the SS Central America dragged 425 people and some 21 tons of gold and silver to the bottom of the ocean. At the time, recovery was impossible and the economical consequences dire. Over a century later, this very gold dust and silver dime were plucked from the skeleton bones of the sunken ship by a wonder of modern technology. 7k is proud to offer you these genuine relics of the past.

Coin #2:

S.S. Central America Liberty Dime & Gold Dust VF20 - VF35

Year of Issue: Various Years
Country of Issue: United States
Mint: U.S. Mint
Face Value: $0.10
Coin Weight: 2.67 grams
Metal Purity: 0.900
Metal Composition: 90% Silver 10% Copper
Features: Shipwreck Dime and Pinch of Gold

The 1857 sinking of the SS Central America dragged 425 people and some 21 tons of gold and silver to the bottom of the ocean. At the time, recovery was impossible and the economical consequences dire. Over a century later, this very gold dust and silver dime were plucked from the skeleton bones of the sunken ship by a wonder of modern technology. 7k is proud to offer you these genuine relics of the past.

Coin #3:

S.S. Central America Liberty Dime & Gold Dust XF40-XF45

Year of Issue: Various Years
Country of Issue: United States
Mint: U.S. Mint
Face Value: $0.10
Coin Weight: 2.67 grams
Metal Purity: 0.900
Metal Composition: 90% Silver 10% Copper
Features: Shipwreck Dime and Pinch of Gold

The 1857 sinking of the SS Central America dragged 425 people and some 21 tons of gold and silver to the bottom of the ocean. At the time, recovery was impossible and the economical consequences dire. Over a century later, this very gold dust and silver dime were plucked from the skeleton bones of the sunken ship by a wonder of modern technology. 7k is proud to offer you these genuine relics of the past.

Want to Understand the Grading System Used?

Check out this guide on the PCGS website: https://www.pcgs.com/grades

Not Sure How A Coin Drop Works?

We've simplified the process even more to help out. Just follow these steps:

1. A few minutes before the time of the coin drop, log in to your account on 7kmetals.com.

2. Click the "Check it out" button in the coin drop box on your account page.
   

3. When the timer counts down to zero you'll see the coin drop interface appear. Swipe left until you see (on a touchscreen device), or click on the image (on a computer) of the coin you want.
   

4. Click the "I WANT ONE" button underneath the coin description.
   

5. Do this for all the coins you want to purchase.

That's it! That's all there is to it!

A few things to note:

• THERE IS NO CODE NEEDED!
• You will NOT need to select the grade this time, as that is how we are separating the coins into products.
• You need to act FAST! The reason we do coin drops is because so many people want a limited number of coins. This is the fairest way we have found to offer these coins. If you see the button underneath a coin flickering between "I Want One" and "Sold Out" it's because people are claiming and then changing their minds about the last few coins.
• PRO TIP: People continue to "unshop" throughout the duration of the coin drop. Don't give up if the coin you want sells out in minutes (or seconds!). People will grab them and then change their minds so coins often become available all throughout the drop. KEEP TRYING!