I just finished reading the book by Gary Kinder "Ship of Gold"[1998 by Atlantic Monthly Press,NY]. Needless to say I was very impressed. I couldn't put that book down and stayed up reading until 3am a few nights. I saw the Ship of Gold display at the Boston ANA show but had no idea of the story behind it. Apart from the actual salvage story the book has a detailed account of the Sept. 1857 sinking of the SS Central America steamer 200 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras.
I too have read the book and was also fascinated but in doing some research afterwards discovered that Tommy Thompson dictated most of the contents of the book with the view of making him the hero of the search. I'll let you do your own research but Tommy essentially disappeared after the gold was recovered, making private deals with buyers and leaving his investors with nothing. He cheated Christie's out of $36M. He apparently was not the good guy depicted in the book. Still, it's a most interesting story. I would love to own one of the gold ingots from the wreck.:yes:
Thompson also wrote his own book. What I found most interesting was the detailed accounts of the 1857 sinking. I looked on e-bay for a recovered 1857-S double eagle. Those suckers are going for $9,000 and up slabbed with SS Central America pedigree. At the Boston ANA exhibit they had big honking blocks of gold salvaged from the shipwreck. The stuff recovered from 8,000 feet deep also included newspapers and letters still readable found in unopened steamer trunks. Silk shirts still neatly folded were packed in trunks and they even brought up a cigar in perfect condition.
