A true rarity. Only 7 known in this grade!
This coin is a true Treasure. It comes from one of the oldest shipwrecks in US History. The SB (Steam Boat) Pulaski was a luxury steamer that fell to tragedy after a boiler exploded late one evening in the Atlantic. The ship was salvaged in 2018 and NCS/NGC was chosen to conserve and grade each of the coins found. Most of the coins that were recovered were the personal property of the very prominent passengers that resided in the Southeast. This coin is a great representation of the early coinage being used during that period. How neat is it to own an 1800s $5 gold liberty from such a storied shipwreck?!? It is a beautiful coin with an incredible level of detail after being on the bottom of the sea.
About the SS Pulaski:
"Built by the Savannah and Charleston Steam Packet Company, the SS Pulaski was designed to be faster and safer than any other steamboat then plying between Charleston and New York. It had spacious accommodations, paddlewheels that were six stories high, and sturdy copper boilers. From the gold leaf-plated wheelhouse to the shining brass fixtures, no expense was spared in its construction. The Pulaski was luxury from bow to stern, and only the wealthiest Americans could afford passage.
On June 13, 1838, the Pulaski left on her fourth voyage with 194 souls on board. That night, around 11 p.m., one of the boilers exploded, practically cutting the vessel in half. Forty-five minutes after the boiler explosion, 135 of the Pulaski’s crew and passengers had drowned, or were scalded to death or crushed by the falling masts. Those left alive in the aftermath made what they could of the damaged lifeboats, with some being forced to make their own rafts.
While other shipwrecks carried massive amounts of coinage in an official capacity, transporting large sums for banks or governments, the smaller number of coins of the Pulaski were those held by individual passengers—personal artifacts with far more history to them than funds simply traveling from bank to bank."