Rare 1856-S/s Quarters Discovered in SS Central America Treasure. The fabled SS Central America, the famous “Ship of Gold” that sank in 1857 carrying tons of California Gold Rush treasure, continues to surprise the numismatic world. California Gold Marketing Group LLC (CGMG) of Brea, California has confirmed discovery in the ship’s latest recovered sunken treasure of nine rare 1856 San Francisco Mint large S over small “s” mint mark Seated Liberty No Motto quarter dollars. “This is a major numismatic finding! The ‘Ship of Gold’ has brought us over a half dozen 1856 S/s large mint mark over small mint mark silver quarters. The S over s is the most pronounced I have ever seen with two overlapping mint marks clear even to the naked eye. We’ve nick-named this latest SS Central America discovery as the S over s Central America,” said Dwight Manley, CGMG Managing Partner. The coins were part of the amazing treasure retrieved from the SS Central America in 2014. Most of the 1856-S/s coins were among the 503 silver quarter dollars discovered in a canvas bag in the purser’s sealed iron box in the ship’s safe on the seabed more than 7,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean’s surface.
