Finest Known Purchases Historic 1857 Shipwreck Photograph
Finest Known has purchased the historic photo, “Mona Lisa of the Deep” at the S.S. Central America “The Ship of Gold” Final Auction, March 4-5, 2023.
It’s hard to believe a photo could survive more than a century and a half at the bottom of the ocean, but in 2014, this remarkably preserved daguerreotype photograph was recovered from “The Ship of Gold” that ship that sank off the North Carolina coast in 1857.
The “Mona Lisa of antique photographs” is the prize photograph discovery.
She was found perfectly positioned on a pile of coal, facing up and looking directly at the ROV video camera when it was discovered in over 7,200 feet below the Atlantic. The scientific mission recovery team nicknamed her, “Mona Lisa of the Deep.”
This antique Daguerreotype photograph shows a young beautiful woman, hands in her lap, shoulders bare, with curling tresses of hair falling past her shoulders, wearing a lacy blouse with jewelry. She is unknown by name but is known as “Mona Lisa of the Deep” because of her striking pose, enigmatic smile, and exquisite, almost three-dimensional clarity of this historic shipwreck image.
Finest Known Buys “Mona Lisa of the Deep”
The second and final auction of never-before-offered, historic California Gold Rush artifacts recovered from the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America, was held on March 4-5, 2023 in Reno, Nevada, and online by Holabird Western Americana Collections.
Finest Known’s Winning Bid was $73,200.
*Not For Sale – Preserving History for Generations
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1853-1856 Chilean 50 Centavo NGC Shipwreck SS Central America$99.00
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SSCA 49er Gold Rush Gold Package$99.00
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1853-1856 CHILEAN 1 PESO NGC SHIPWRECK-SS CENTRAL AMERICA$195.00
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1857 1.5 GRAM NUGGETS SSCA GOLD-EUREKA EDITION 1 OF 933 PCGS SSCA$299.00
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1841 W 1/2 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$300.00
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1820 Z 2 REALES AG MEXICO NGC SWE$750.00
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1791-9 LIMA 2 REALES IJ PERU NGC SWE$775.00
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1831 A 1/2 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$798.00
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1817 1/2 CROWN GR. BRITAIN “SMALL BUST” NGC SWE$875.00
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1816 1 SHILLING GREAT BRITIAN – CTSP – “JP”/”3” NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$875.00
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1847 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$890.00
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1850 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$890.00
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1823 A 1/2 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$890.00
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1845 B 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$890.00
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1850 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$898.00
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1819 LIMA 2 REALES JP PERU NGC SWE$898.00
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1847 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$898.00
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1850 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$925.00
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1790 LIMA 2 REALES IJ PERU NGC SWE$950.00
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1795 LIMA 2 REALES IJ PERU NGC SWE$950.00
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1804 LIMA 2 REALES JP PERU NGC SWE$950.00
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1812 LIMA 2 REALES JP PERU NGC SWE$950.00
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1818 LIMA 2 REALES JP PERU NGC SWE$950.00
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1848 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1849 JB 1 REALE COSTA RICA NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1845 W 1 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1788 LIMA 2 REALES IJ PERU NGC SWE$975.00
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1845 A 1 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1850 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1834 S 1/2 FRANC FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$975.00
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1847 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$990.00
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1852 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$990.00
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1851 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$995.00
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1851 A 50 CENT FRANCE NGC-SSCA-2 SWE$995.00
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1857 S $5 SSCA-2 Gold $5 Liberty Head PCGS MS62$17,500.00
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GOLD TWO-NUGGET DOUBLE STICKPIN, SS CENTRAL AMERICA TREASURE – Lot #1133$16,500.00
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1857 5 oz. Union SSCA Gold Dust Package PCGS$15,750.00
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1857 S $5 SSCA-2 Gold $5 Liberty Head PCGS MS61$15,750.00
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SS CENTRAL AMERICA ARTIFACT SHADOW BOX – 1ST CABIN RECEIPT, BRASS ROOM NO. FROM 1ST CLASS, 1.5 GRAM GOLD NUGGET$7,995.00
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1856 S $20 GOLD TYPE I LIBERTY ‘Full Serif, Bold S’ PCGS-SSCA-2 AU55$7,000.00
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1856 S $20 LIBERTY TYPE I NO MOTTO PCGS-SSCA-1 AU55$7,000.00
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LOT #5017 – SSCA AUCTION II – NEW YORK NEWS, STEAMER EDITION – FRAMED$4,750.00
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GOLD NUGGETS ON QUARTZ COLLECTION – Lot #2038$3,750.00
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W.G. BERRY’S COMB, INSCRIBED W/ PASSENGER NAME W.G. BERRY SEPT. 5, 1857 & W.G. BERRY STEAM SHIP GEORGE LAW$3,750.00
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MEN’S WORK SHIRT, BROOKS BROTHERS, WOOL, DEMENT TRUNK$2,950.00
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CRSTALLINE GOLD IN BRIGHT WHITE QUARTZ – BEAUTIFUL GOLD SPECIMEN$2,250.00