Page 14 - joa-12-22

Unique California Gold Rush Sunken Treasure Artifacts

Finally Come to Market at Holabird December 3

RENO, NV – Decades after the unique California Gold Rush sunken receipts; ship’s hardware; a navigational sextant (octant); and daguerreo-
treasure artifacts were retrieved from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, type photographs retrieved from the fabled ship during the scientific
the exquisite gold jewelry, vintage clothing, Wells Fargo treasure shipment recovery missions.
box and other historic items from the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of “These incredible artifacts give us a glimpse of daily life for the passengers
Gold,” the S.S. Central America, will be available for the first time in a and crew in the 1850s,” said Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of the
public auction on December 3, 2022. California Gold Marketing Group of Brea, California, which owns the
Nearly 300 never-before-offered 1850s-era artifacts will be in the recovered items. “They are a time capsule from the California Gold Rush.”
auction that will be conducted at the Reno, Nevada Convention Center Some of the unusual, recovered artifacts in the auction include 1850s-
and online by Holabird Western Americana Collections on Saturday, era personal grooming items, a chastity belt, and a feminine hygiene kit.
December 3. A second auction of hundreds of additional one-of-a-kind The tragedy of the S.S. Central America sinking took the lives of 425
artifacts retrieved from the famous shipwreck will be offered in February of the ship’s 578 passengers and crewmembers, and the loss of the gold
2023. (www.HolabirdAmericana.com) cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial Panic of
Clothing items include the important discovery of the oldest known 1857 in the United States.
Gold Rush-era heavy-duty work pants jeans with a button fly that may Insurance claims for the loss were paid in the 1850s and the company
have been made by or for Levi Strauss in his early years in business. The that discovered and retrieved the treasure starting in 1988 settled with the
pants and early Brooks Brothers undershirts with the company’s famous insurers and their successors in 1992. With court approval, California
emblem that will also be in the auction were in the first-class passenger Gold Marketing Group acquired clear title to all of that remaining
trunk of merchant and Mexican-American War military veteran John treasure in 1999 as well as all the items recovered in 2014.
Dement of Oregon. Holabird Western Americana Collections has prepared an extensive,
The auction also features recovered gold jewelry including dozens of limited edition 280-page catalog with dozens of previously unpublished
rings, stickpins, and cuff links, some of them from shipments that were illustrations of the S.S. Central America recovery operations, some
intended for East Coast jewelers, as well as several recovered pocket watch reproduced in 3-D as shot during the discovery missions with a remote-
cases and covers. controlled submersible nicknamed “Nemo.” Copies of the catalog are
“The S.S. Central America was carrying tons of Gold Rush treasure available while supplies last for $100 each with the price refundable with
from San Francisco and the northern California area when she sank 7,200 any purchase from the auction. Auction lots can also be viewed online.
feet deep in the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast in a hurricane while For additional information about the recovered artifacts auctions
on a voyage from Panama to New York City in September 1857. Recovery planned for December 2022 and February 2023 and to obtain a printed
from the shipwreck site occurred in several stages between 1988-1991 and catalog, visit Holabird Western Americana Collections of Reno, Nevada
again in 2014,” said Fred Holabird, president of Holabird Auctions. at www.HolabirdAmericana.com, call 775-851-1859, or email
Other intriguing artifacts include the Purser’s keys to the gold treasure info@holabirdamericana.com.
room as well as other keys and locks; passenger luggage tags and ticket

Discover the Beaauty

of Antique Americann Glass

Always Buying, Check Out Our Website, Call foor Free Appraisals

Something new for your
something old.
W
B
n i

i g n i z i l a i c e p p
S e n r e t s o s e l t t
Buy. Sell. Enjoy.

Antiquing from the comfort of
your armchair.

Personalized support for everyone.

Flat monthly rate, commission-free sales.

Social media promotion for dealers.

Old school buyer/seller interaction.

1 1-800-806-7722
American Bottle Auctions • 915 28th Street, Sacrameento, CA 95816
V isit our website at ammericanbottle.com or email us at info@ameericanbottle.com
GoAntiques.com Auc tioninng Antique Bottles for 25 YYear s!
t

12 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles