A unique, sunken treasure gold coin that made its way from New Orleans to the California Gold Rush and then to the Panama railroad before going down with a famous ship has now come home to The Big Easy for the public to see.

It left the United States Mint branch in New Orleans 167 years ago, and for 157 of those years it was submerged on the floor of the Atlanta Ocean as part of America's greatest lost treasure.

explained Bruce Smith, Director of Numismatics at M.S. Rau Fine Art, Antiques and Jewels.

said Smith.

The coin, graded PCGS XF45, is on public display at the Rau gallery, 630 Royal St. in New Orleans, Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5:15 pm. Admission is free.

Scientist Bob Evans, who was on the successful S.S. Central America recovery missions, told PCGS Rare Coin Market Report Price Guide Magazine, the counterstamped 1854-O Quarter Eagle he discovered while examining treasure retrieved in 2014, is one of his favorite coins.

Evans stated.

The S.S. Central America was a 280-foot long, three-masted side-wheel steamship carrying tons of California gold when she sank on September 12, 1857 hurricane during the cargo's final leg of the voyage from Aspinwall (now Colón), Panama to New York City. The tragedy took the lives of 420 of the ship's 578 passengers and crew members and the loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial panic of 1857 in the United States.

When the S.S. Central America site was discovered in 1988 on the seafloor of the Atlantic, 7200 feet down about 150 miles off the North Carolina coast, Life magazine proclaimed it

For additional information, contact M.S. Rau at 888-557-2406 or visit online at www.RauAntiques.com.