$20 million Ship of Gold to dock in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA -- A $20 million cargo of California Gold Rush treasures from the famous S.S. Central America shipwreck will be publicly displayed for the first time in Philadelphia during the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money, Wednesday - Sunday, August 9 - 13, in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.

The Central America was carrying tons of California gold -- valued today at more than $100 million -- when it sank in a hurricane in September 1857 during a voyage from Panama to New York City.

The exhibit showcases $20 million of recovered coins and gold bars. It is housed in a specially built, 40-foot long replica of the ship's hull.

Visitors peer through "portholes" to see genuine, glittering 1850s gold coins and assayer's bars, including the world's largest gold bar. The coins have been graded by the Professional Coin Grading Service.

"It's the ship of gold. Every piece of the treasure is Wild West history you can hold in your hands," said Dwight Manley, the rare coin dealer-turned-sports agent who is managing director of the California Gold Marketing Group of Newport Beach www.SSCentralAmerica.com.

Manley's organization purchased $100+ million worth of the fabled lost treasure last December and will bring $20 million of it for a public exhibit at the World's Fair of Money. This will be the first time these historic, valuable items will be displayed in Philadelphia.

The Central America exhibition includes the world's largest ingot. Nicknamed "Eureka," it is a gold brick weighing nearly 80 pounds (933 ounces) produced by assayers in San Francisco in 1857. The huge bar was among the tons of California gold on board when the Central America sank.

"The educational exhibit also includes a recreation of the 1850s era San Francisco assay office of Kellogg & Humbert, filled with dozens of gold bars and antique ingot-making tools," explained Manley. "Two sides of the assay office display $300,000 worth of rare, original Gold Rush photographs and daguerreotypes of mining and miners from the late 1840s to 1850s."

"Purchased at a recent Sotheby's auction, these one-of-a-kind photographs show 'forty-niners' at work, early 'boom' towns and an entrepreneur's tent store, where miners could purchase equipment and food."

Bob Evans, director of science and history of the Columbus-America Discovery Group, the organization that located and recovered the treasure in the late 1980s, will present an illustrated lecture, "Ship of Gold: The S.S. Central America," at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, August 12.

The World's Fair of Money is open to the public. Admission is free.

The hours are Wednesday to Saturday, August 9 to 12, from 10 a.m. to 6p.m., and Sunday, August 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) sponsors the five-day convention. Founded in 1891, the 29,000-member, nonprofit ANA is the world's largest educational organization for collectors of coins, paper money, tokens and medals.

For additional information about the event, call the ANA at (719) 632-2646 or visit their web site at www.money.org. For information about the treasure, contact California Gold Marketing Group at (949) 719-1970.