The 268-pound bell from the fabled the SS Central America that sank in 1857, will be publicly displayed along with some of the recovered California Gold Rush treasure at the American Numismatic Association's 2021 Chicago World's Fair of Money®, August 10-14 (www.WorldsFairofMoney.com). The bell that helped to confirm the identity of the historic vessel was brought up from the Atlantic Ocean in 1988 and has not been exhibited in public for three decades.

said Dwight Manley, managing partner of California Gold Marketing Group which owns the bell and recovered sunken treasure.

The ringing of the bell ceremony will be conducted daily 30 minutes after the show opens to the public and again at 3 pm. The American Numismatic Association 2021 Chicago World's Fair of Money will be in Hall A of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd., in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois.

said Bob Evans, a scientist and historian who was a key member on each of the recovery expeditions starting in the late 1980s.

The SS Central America sank 7,200 feet under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean 150 miles off the North Carolina coast during a hurricane on September 12, 1857. She was on a voyage from Panama to New York carrying tons of California Gold Rush coins, ingots, and gold dust from the San Francisco and Northern California area. The tragedy took the lives of 425 of the ship's 578 passengers and crewmembers, and the loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial panic of 1857 in the United States.

The ship's bell has only been publicly exhibited twice before, both times in Ohio. It was displayed in 1992 at the Columbus Museum of Art and in 1993 at the Columbus Zoo. It has been in secure storage for nearly three decades, kept in approximately 90 gallons of distilled water weighing about 750 pounds in addition to the bell's 278 pounds.

The maiden voyage of the SS Central America (then named the SS George Law) was in October of 1853.

When the submerged bell came into view on the camera of the robot submarine being used to search for the ship in 1988, the expedition team could see part of the embossed lettering on it, MORGAN IRON WORKS NEW YORK 1853. That provided additional evidence that the shipwreck site was indeed the SS Central America.

stated Evans.

explained Evans.

said Evans.

For additional information about the American Numismatic Association 2021 Chicago World's Fair of Money, visit www.WorldsFairofMoney.com.