Reno, NV, February 27, 2023 — Three dozen 166-year-old Cuban cigars will be in an auction of never-before-offered, historic California Gold Rush-era artifacts recovered from the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America. The auction will be held on March 4 and 5, 2023 in Reno, Nevada and online by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC (www.HolabirdWesternAmericana.com).
“Thirty-seven Cuban cigars, apparently brought on board when the ship stopped in Havana on the voyage from Panama to New York, were found in a passenger’s trunk on the Atlantic Ocean seabed in 1991. Some of their wrappers are still in excellent condition. This is the first time these vintage cigars are being offered,” said Fred Holabird, President of Holabird Western Americana Collections.
“Imagine having a Havana-rolled cigar made when Abraham Lincoln was a Senator,” said Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of California Gold Marketing Group, the consignor of the sunken treasure.
The S.S. Central America was carrying tons of Gold Rush treasure from San Francisco and the northern California area when she sank 7,200 feet deep in the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast in a hurricane while on a voyage from Aspinwall, Panama to New York City in September 1857. Recovery from the shipwreck site occurred in several stages between 1988-1991 and again in 2014.
For additional information about the auction, visit Holabird Western Americana Collections of Reno, Nevada at www.HolabirdAmericana.com, call 775-851-1859, or email [email protected].
