Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot Face Plate. Serial No. 562. 198.03 Ounces, 859 Fine, $3,516.43 Contemporary Value, As Issued. From the S.S. Central America Treasure.
65 mm x 150 mm x 4.5 mm. 19.05 ounces, current weight, 16.36 ounces AGW current. The issuer's stamp KELLOGG & HUMBERT ASSAYERS is boldly impressed on the face, the ingot number above and the weight, fineness and contemporary value below. A few minor imperfections in the face of the ingot are as made, the result of the casting process. Mold size KH-05, and plated on page 448 of Q. David Bowers classic reference A California Gold Rush History Featuring the Treasure from the S.S. Central America (2002). Bowers provides the following commentary on the history of the Kellogg & Humbert gold ingot face plates: "In the 1980s, a group of intrepid treasure seekers, the Columbus-America Discovery Group (C-ADG), Inc., led by Tommy Thompson, Robert Evans, and Barry Schatz, discovered the remains of the ship [ S.S. Central America ] in nearly 8,500 feet of water on the Outer Continental Shelf. Explorations soon found a great treasure. After lengthy legal skirmishes, C-ADG sold the treasure to Dwight Manley and associates.... "By the summer of 2001 only a few large-size ingots remained unsold. The demand from museums, collectors, historians, and others had been satisfied. What to do with these large, heavy ingots? By special arrangement with the California Historical Society as sponsor, the original dies for the Kellogg & Co. $50, which had survived the years, were used to make transfer dies to which a small inscription was added on the otherwise blank ribbon on the reverse, noting the source of the gold and the initials of the Society, C.H.S. "The gold used was taken from certain unsold large gold ingots made in the 1850s by Kellogg & Humbert, in which John Glover Kellogg was a partner, thus giving the commemorative restrikes a particularly unusual connection with the past. This was done by carefully cutting the face away from each ingot, creating a face-plate, beautiful and still quite heavy, but now marketable at a price within the reach of more buyers. "Production of 5,000 pieces, billed as 'commemorative restrikes' took place in San Francisco from August 20 to September 12, 2001, or 144 years after the S.S. Central America sank, with the specimens struck each day being counterstamped with the appropriate date. The remaining face plates were quickly sold, as were the commemorative restrikes. The distribution of the S.S. Central America treasure was complete!"
From the Madrone Collection.