Trade Dollars from the Wreck of the SS Japan

Numismatic Guaranty Company has certified the first documented Trade dollars recovered from the wreck of the SS Japan. The ship, a U.S.-flagged Pacific Mail steamer, sank in the South China Sea on December 17, 1874. More than 400 Chinese emigrants died in the disaster.

The ship was carrying 168 boxes of newly minted 1874 Trade dollars from the San Francisco and Carson City mints, valued at $358,508. The coins never circulated or received chopmarks. Fewer than 100 SS Japan Trade dollars have been documented. Their certification follows years of research by numismatist Ben Dalgleish and historian and retired U.S. Navy Captain Robert S. Wells, author of Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea.

The coins, assembled by Chris Olive, president of DeepSea Numismatics; and Matthew Tavory, president of World Coins South FL, made their public debut at the FUN Show in Orlando, Florida, last month. GreatCollections is currently offering two authenticated examples of the sea-salvaged 1874 SS Japan Trade dollars on its website. Bidding closes on August 30.