LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 MAR Phoenix (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #1...  / 

1826

Kellogg & Humbert MS Gold Ingot Uncertified.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:110,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Kellogg & Humbert MS Gold Ingot Uncertified.
<B>Kellogg & Humbert MS Gold Ingot Uncertified. 93.84 Ounces.</B></I> Mold KH-04. The story of the gold lost when the <I>S.S. Central America </B></I>went down has generally been told as the loss of the gold causing the Panic of 1857. In fact, the bullion on board the sunken ship was a complicating factor, but not an actual reason for the Panic. Documents from 1857 and 1858 reinforce this. In August and September 1857, the New York City division of the Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company failed. This triggered a wave of financial crises. Some banks ceased specie payments. Railroad shares fell dramatically. Several banks in Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia closed their doors in mid-September. When the <I>S.S. Central America </B></I>sank on September 12, the loss of gold further exacerbated the payment of specie by many New York banks. This problem was foretold in <I>Harper's</B></I> in its June 20, 1857 issue, as related in Bowers' <I>A California Gold Rush History:<BR> </B></I><BR> "The country is prosperous, no doubt, but we are going ahead so fast, and living so absolutely from hand to mouth, that the first hitch in the machinery may upset the whole concern. The loss of a single specie-steamer from California would break no one can tell how many mercantile houses in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston."<BR><BR> Kellogg & Humbert were by far the largest assayers represented among the gold ingots in the hold of the <I>S.S. Central America</B></I>. There were 343 ingots from this well-known assaying concern, representing more than 35,000 ounces of gold. The sizes varied widely. The smallest ingot weighed only 5.71 ounces, while the largest, known as the "Eureka" ingot, weighed an amazing 933.94 ounces. This nearly eight-pound ingot (12 troy ounces of gold to a troy pound) is among the upper half of the Kellogg bars on board. One item of interest is the individual bar number. Number 1031 is the third highest number listed, indicating it must have been poured shortly before the ship left San Francisco. <BR> The ingot itself has a great deal of visual interest. Every surface, even the assaying chips on the corners, are irregularly coated with deep reddish-rust patina. The top side reads: No 1031 / Kellogg imprint / 93.84 Oz / 890 FINE / $1726.45. At the top of the back side the individual bar number is repeated. Where not deeply patinated, the surfaces are bright yellow-gold. Two small assay chips are out of opposing corners, as always. The ingot measures 55 x 110 x 28 mm. An outstanding and highly attractive ingot from this historic shipwreck.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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