1857-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, 20D PCGS MS62 Prooflike Ex. SS Central America

Gold specialist Doug Winter writes of the Prooflike 1857-S examples: "These are some of the most visually arresting coins from the shipwreck .... These are no doubt very scarce and very flashy coins..."  Winter reports that only 23 of that massive hoard of 5,000 1857-S double eagles were awarded PL (Prooflike) designation by PCGS. This rare specimen is the 20D Variety (Bold 7, Faint S).

This haunting image of a young woman was found among the wreckage of the SS Central America. Was she on board? Did she survive? Or did a loved one who perished carry her image with him? We will never know.

The example offered by AUCM was preserved in remarkable condition. That is not surprising, considering that the 1857-S double eagle never had the opportunity to become an instrument of commerce. That is because the S.S. Central America sunk in 1857, the year the piece was struck in San Francisco. Some may wonder how a coin, such as the current offering, could be so well preserved after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for a good 130 years.

The vessel landed under 8,000 feet of water: a dark, freezing, and unwelcoming place where there was no current or disturbance whatsoever. Additionally, gold is a stable metal and contact with salt water has little effect. Even more, and most importantly, the vast majority of the coins retrieved from the ship were packed in wooden boxes that were tightly stacked, giving them even more protection from the elements.