On September 12, 1857, one of the worst maritime tragedies in U.S. history occurred when the SS Central America sank due to a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas. Known as the “Ship of Gold,” this vessel carried 578 passengers and crew members along with over 30,000 pounds of gold. Only 153 survived, leaving behind a horrifying legacy and a treasure lost to the depths of the ocean. Over a century later, in 1988, treasure hunter Tommy Thompson rediscovered the wreck and the gold it carried, but the story did not end there.
An illustration of the SS Central America from 1857.
SS Central America: From Pride to Tragedy
SS Central America was a 280-foot steamship built in October 1852 at the Webb shipyard in New York. Under the command of Navy Commander William Lewis Herndon, the ship made numerous voyages between North and South America, transporting a fortune in gold from the California Gold Rush on each trip. On September 3, 1857, the SS Central America departed from Panama on a fateful journey to New York, carrying 101 crew members, 477 passengers, and over 30,000 pounds of gold.
Commander William Lewis Herndon, the captain of the SS Central America.
On September 9, 1857, the ship encountered a hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas. As the storm grew stronger, the SS Central America struggled to stay afloat. By September 11, the vessel began taking on water and faced increasing difficulties in navigating. Despite the crew’s efforts to save the ship and passengers, the SS Central America succumbed to the storm and sank on September 12, taking with it a vast treasure and hundreds of lives.
One survivor, miner William Chase from Michigan, described the final moments before the ship sank: “There was some praying, also some swearing, and some fighting for loose boards and box tops. Some deliberately turned in and went to bed, choosing to meet their fate in that form. The majority did not expect the vessel to go down so soon.”
Tommy Thompson’s Treasure Hunt
A depiction of the ship’s sinking in 1857.
Following the disaster, for over 130 years, treasure hunters scoured the Atlantic in hopes of finding the sunken gold. It wasn’t until Tommy Thompson, a marine engineer from Ohio, took on the challenge in 1985 that the SS Central America and its lost treasure were rediscovered. With support from 161 private investors, Thompson raised over $12 million to fund his expedition.
On September 11, 1988, Thompson’s team used a remotely operated submersible to explore a sunken vessel about 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina. They soon discovered the ship’s bell, confirming the wreck as the SS Central America. Subsequent dives revealed an astonishing sight: the ocean floor was carpeted with gold.
The team recovered around two tons of gold coins and ingots, valued at approximately $76 million in 2019. However, this was only a fraction of the treasure that SS Central America had carried.
Tommy Thompson, the man who discovered the wreck of the SS Central America.
Tommy Thompson’s Legal Troubles
The discovery of such a massive treasure led Thompson into numerous legal battles. In 1989, 39 insurance companies sued Thompson, claiming they had insured the treasure that sank with the SS Central America and thus deserved a significant portion. The courts ultimately awarded Thompson’s team 92% of the recovered gold.
However, Thompson faced legal issues with his investors. In 2005, several investors sued him for failing to repay the millions they had contributed. Thompson claimed that most of his earnings from the treasure were used to cover legal fees and loans.
Some of the ship’s sunken treasure.
In 2012, a federal warrant was issued for Thompson’s arrest, demanding he reveal the location of approximately 500 gold coins. Instead, he went on the run and was only captured in 2015 at a Florida hotel, where he had been hiding under a false identity and paying in cash. Despite being ordered to pay $19.4 million in damages to his investors in 2018, Thompson refused to disclose the location of the remaining coins, claiming they were in a trust in Belize.
While Tommy Thompson was the first to discover the SS Central America, his team only excavated a small portion of the treasure. Subsequent expeditions, particularly by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2014, recovered thousands of additional gold coins, silver coins, gold ingots, and other valuable artifacts. Despite the immense value of the gold from the SS Central America, the pursuit of this treasure proved to be a curse for Tommy Thompson and the victims of the shipwreck. For many, the SS Central America represents not just the greatest American treasure ever found but also a symbol of greed and the unforeseen consequences it can bring.