1856-S Double Eagle SS Central America - 1856-S $20 SSCA PCGS AU53 CAC, 17A Full Serif Broken A. This sharply struck 1856-S Double Eagle comes with the provenance of the shipwrecked S.S. Central America. It has a certificate, box and gold tag from PCGS showing its pedigree. Hints of mint luster remain in protected areas of both sides of the coin. Full details are present on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, which is unusual for a pre-Civil War piece, and on the design details of the reverse. Light wear on the highest points is present in keeping with the grade. The surfaces are original and clean with no notable individual abrasion marks. The CAC sticker indicates that the coin is of premium quality and well within the range of the grade assigned. 

Until the discovery of the S.S. Central America, 1850s double eagles in AU condition were rare. The ship, originally called the S.S. George Law, was a United States mail steamship. In 1857 it sank off the coast of the Carolinas because of a huge hurricane. It was a three-mast, side-wheel steamship that traveled between Panama and New York. The journey took approximately 21 days. In the five years prior to its sinking, it has been estimated that the Central America carried about $150 million worth of gold or one-third of all of the gold mined in California. The ship was 272 feet long and had 578 passengers and crew on board. It also had on board over 35,000 pieces of mail and gold bars, nuggets, dust, and 5,200 newly minted San Francisco gold coins from the West, of which the present coin is one. The loss of the Central America triggered the Panic of 1857, which was caused by bank instability and generally poor economic conditions.

On September 26, 1857, the Philadelphia Public Ledger made the following announcement:  The distrust that has pervaded stock and financial circles for the last fortnight was considerably heightened yesterday, by announcement early in the day that the Bank of Pennsylvania had suspended payment. A meeting of the directors was immediately convened, and the business of the bank ceased.The effect of the stoppage by the Bank spread like wildfire, and almost immediately a run was made on all the other banks, which was continued up to the hour of closingthree oclock. Within a week, specie payments were suspended at New York City banks, and a nationwide depression followed. 

In 1985, the Columbus-America Discovery Group raised ten million dollars and began to search for the wreck. They found it at a depth of 8,500 feet off the coast of South Carolina. It is estimated that the total coins, ingots, and gold bars were worth more than one hundred million dollars.

In its population report, PCGS lists 18 varieties for the 1856-S double eagle. The 17A Full Serif Broken A variety has 3 examples certified in AU53 with 33 better. NGC has 0 in AU53 with 4 better. As of July 2012, CAC has confirmed 1, the present coin in AU53 with 8 better.