Kellogg & Humbert Ingot Brings $138,000
Holabird Western Americana Collections conducted the final auction of historic items recovered from the 1857 sinking of the legendary “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America, representing a time capsule of Gold Rush life.
Anearly two-pound Kellogg & Humbert assayer’s gold ingot was among the highlights in the second and final auction of never-before-offered California Gold Rush artifacts recovered from the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America. From lumps of coal and crew members’ keys to tableware and exquisite jewelry, collectors bid $1.1 million to acquire the 422 lots in the auction conducted by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC in Reno, Nev., March 4-5.
“We had about 7,000 online bidders, including some from Canada, Europe and South America,” said Fred Holabird, president of the auction firm. “Many collectors were waiting for these extraordinary items to come on the market since the legendary, submerged ship was located in 1988 and Life magazine proclaimed it America’s greatest treasure ever found. This was an incredible time capsule of the California Gold Rush era.”
One of the auction highlights was a 32.15-ounce gold bar created in San Francisco by prominent Gold Rush assayers John Glover Kellogg and Augustus Humbert. The ingot sold for $138,000. The assayer’s hand- stamped value at the time it was created was $586.17.
“Augustus Humbert and John Glover Kellogg are among the most famous assayers in California Gold Rush history, said Dwight Manley, managing partner of California Gold Marketing Group, the consignor of the sunken treasure. “Kellogg & Humbert opened for business in early 1855 and were among the most active and prolific issuers of gold ingots and coins during the mid-1850s.”
The auction also offered a contemporary counterfeit Mexican 8 escudos “gold” coin dated 1853 that may have been made in California. It sold for $37,200.
“There were five Mexican gold coins mixed in with dozens of U.S. and world coins in a canvas bag in the ship’s purser’s safe when we recovered it in 2014,” explained Bob Evans, chief scientist of the S.S. Central America Project who was on each of the recovery missions. “Two were genuine gold and copper alloy Mexican coins and three were counterfeits like this one in the auction, composed of a gold and silver alloy.”
The coin has been encapsulated by Professional Coin Grading Service in a special holder with a compartment containing a “pinch” of recovered gold dust. The encapsulation label reads: 1853- GoPM 8 Esc / PCGS / Contemporary / Counterfeit.
There was also the only known, complete treasure box from the 1850s California Gold Rush period that sold for $6,300. An embossed wax seal on the box is still easily readable as “Alsop & Co.,” renowned merchants and gold treasure shippers of the era.
Six bank notes discovered in the purser’s safe were offered.