1839-O $2.50 Classic Head Quarter Eagle NGC AU55 Ex.SS New York (w/book, as issued)

The SS New York was a side-wheel steamship of 160.5 feet in length, launched in New York City in 1837. Under the direction of Charles Morgan and others, put into the coastwise run from New York City to Charleston. There she remained for but a short time, and was sent to New Orleans shortly thereafter. The Republic of Texas, formed in 1836, beckoned immigrants from foreign countries, American citizens, and others to settle the vast territory. A virtual promised land was in the offing, with fertile soil, wide planes, and the opportunity to acquire land inexpensively. This was part of the westward movement in America, called “Manifest Destiny” buy some.

At the time Galveston was the largest town in Texas and also had the very best seaport on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The SS New York, along with her sister ship, the SS Columbia shuttled back-and-forth between the two cities, carrying passengers and light cargo each way.

Departing Galveston on September 5, 1846, with several dozen passengers and crew a board plus cargo, the ship headed towards New Orleans. It was foggy and the wind was light, but there was no indication of any weather problems. Unexpectedly, stiff winds and high seas arose, and within a few hours the ship anchored about 50 miles off the coast to weather out the storm. Conditions worsened, however, and a full-fledged hurricane set upon them, tossing the ship to and fro. On the morning of September 6, the situation became worse and the waves became mountainous. During that night the ship wrenched and split apart at the side, admitting water into the hole and causing the ship to tilt. It eventually broke apart and passengers grabbed what they could to survive. Most were eventually rescued but 18 lives were lost. By September the 10th newspaper accounts of this seafaring disaster were printed all around the United States.

In 1990, enterprising young adventurers and scuba divers discovered signs of the wreck in the coastal waters of Galveston in the form of two silver half dollars dated 1843 and a British gold sovereign dated 1827. In 1994 the bell was found with NEW YORK on it confirming the find. The salvage group eventually determined there were no insurance claims pending on the wreck or by any heirs. By the end of the 2007 season what seemed to be remnants of the original safe – some hinges and latch parts and the key, and rust – were found, encasing compact masses of coins held together by fused sand, mud and silt. Scattered other coins were found elsewhere but all told, slightly over 400 gold coins were brought up to the surface and slightly over 2,000 silver pieces.

As to the significance of the SS New York find, it joins just a handful of other ships recovered with significant United States gold coins as a part of the treasure. Many Spanish gold and other foreign gold coins have been recovered from the seafloor, but only a few have had significant American gold. Indeed, these special treasure ships can be counted on the fingers of one hand. They are, in date order, the S.S. Yankee Blade, which sank off Santa Barbara California in 1854, has had very little documentation, but apparently several 1854-S double eagles were recovered in the 1970s. The S.S. Central America, another famous ship lost at sea off the coast of North Carolina in 1857, and yielding about 7,500 coins and 400 ingots, including over 5,500 1857-S double eagles. The S.S. Brother Jonathan, wrecked off the coast of California in the summer of 1865, and yielding about 1,200 coins, again mostly double eagles. Lastly, the S.S. republic, sank in the Atlantic off the coast of Georgia in the autumn of 1865, and yielding several thousand gold coins, primarily higher denominations.

Each of these ships was from a later era when double eagles (first minted for circulation in 1850) were the coin of choice. In contrast, the SS New York was from an earlier time, and contains an entirely different mix of treasure. Also in terms of the number of gold coins found, as a class the pieces from the ship or rare than those from the Central America, Brother Jonathan and Republic.