Reno, NV, USA, December 4, 2022 — Rare antique bottles retrieved from the S.S. Central America – the legendary “Ship of Gold” that sank in a storm off the North Carolina coast in 1857 while on a voyage from Panama to New York City – will come up for bid in an auction slated for Saturday, December 3rd, by Holabird Western Americana Collections, at 10 am PST.
The auction will be held online on several platforms as well as live at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno. Collectors have been eagerly awaiting the Gold Rush-era items to come on the market since the S.S. Central America was first spotted on the ocean floor in 1988. At the time, Life magazine proclaimed it America’s greatest treasure ever found, and rightly so.
The antique bottles are just one of the categories of the more than 500 lots on offer in the Part 1 auction (Part 2 will be held in late February 2023; time and date to be announced). The antique bottles will be roughly split between the December and February auctions.
Lots 1053-1056 are dark green to black beer bottles ranging from 8 to 9 ½ inches tall. While none of the bottles are embossed or have labels, original seafloor dirt still adorns the exteriors, and possible dregs of 19th century beer coat the interiors. One bottle exterior is swirled with iron oxide coating; another has a frosted appearance that accentuates the molding swirls.
For additional information about the recovered artifacts auctions planned for December 2022 and February 2023 and to obtain a printed catalog, visit Holabird Western Americana Collections of Reno, Nevada at www.HolabirdAmericana.com, call 775-851-1859, or email [email protected]. A virtual catalog is available online for auctions Parts A and B.
