Blake & Company Assayers Gold Ingot. Sacramento. Serial No. 5232. 30.41 Ounces, .817 Fine. $513.59 Contemporary Value. From the S.S. Central America Treasure. Approximately 52.9 mm x 43.2 mm x 26.9 mm. An exceptionally attractive and rare ingot from the famous shipwreck of the <em>S.S. Central America</em>. The surfaces are encrusted with the natural iron oxides that came from the rusting iron of the ship and, probably, portions of the crates that contained these bars. Many of the larger and more common bars were cleaned of this natural patina, but those that were not retain a wonderful array of deep orange, red and mauve toning that speaks to the more than 130 years this bar spent on the Atlantic Ocean floor, at a depth of more than 7,000 feet. The unpatinated areas reveal the richness of nearly 20 karat gold, with a faintly greenish cast and brilliant, almost reflective surfaces in places.<p>Stamped on the face with the assayers identity at the top, BLAKE & Co., in a single gang punch. In two lines beneath, are ASSAYERS and SACRAMENTO, also from a prepared punch. Below this is the fineness, .817 FINE, followed by VALUE and the face value of the bar in 1857, $513.59. The top of the bar features the serial number NO. 5232, while the opposing side bears the weight, 30.41 OZ. The underside of the bar exhibits the usual cooling depression (this being the top side of the poured bar), but there are no additional markings. Corner assay cuts are taken from two opposing corners, as usual. Unique to the Blake and Co. bars is the fine beveling of all edges, speaking to the firms effort to make their product truly outstanding among their competitors. What is most unusual about this is that the ingots were ephemeral by nature and not intended as a finished product. Today we see this beveling as matter of quality and care, but most likely the intent was utilitarian, to finely finish the edges so that no gold could be easily stolen from a rough edge.<p>The <em>S.S. Central America</em> is probably the most famous American shipwreck, lost in a storm off the coast of South Carolina in September 1857. It was laden with a vast trove of gold from California, the loss of which exacerbated an unfolding financial panic the same year. Thousands of gold coins were recovered from the seafloor, along with a few hundred gold ingots ranging in weight from just under 5 ounces to more than 900 ounces. These were from five different assaying firms, but Blake & Co. bars are the rarest in the marketplace today. Just 34 were found in the original recovery (a stark contrast to nearly ten times that number found bearing the Kellogg & Humbert name). Blake bars are considered the most attractive and most desirable of them all. This ingot is plated on page 109 of Q. David Bowers <em>A California Gold Rush History featuring the treasure from the S.S. Central America</em>. Ex S.S. Central America.
