THE S.S. CENTRAL AMERICA'S LOST MINT DOCUMENTS

In 1857-1858, after the S.S. Central America foundered in a hurricane off the Carolinas on September 12th, the Director of the UnitedStates Mint, James Ross Snowden, and the San Francisco Branch Mint Superintendent Charles H. Hempstead exchanged several letters which in part citedthe wreck. The main focus of their discussion revolved around handwritten copies of key San Francisco Branch Mint records that were lost with theship.

The date of August 20th referred to in the letter excerpts, marked the morning that the steamship S.S. Sonora departed from her berth inSan Francisco Bay and headed down to Panama. Her valuable cargo included over 400 passengers, the twice-monthly California gold treasure shipment andmail bags. The first leg of the passage by sea ended with a quick trip ashore and a crossing by light rail from the Pacific side of the Isthmus toAspinwall on the Caribbean Sea where the S.S. Central America lay in wait for the voyage back to New York.

The Melter & Refiner cited in the letters was Agoston Haraszthy who was accused of a $152,000 shortfall of gold in the Branch Mint'saccount books.

The following excerpts are from Snowden writing to Hempstead.

As Robert Leonard pointed out to the author, the mint was churning out a million dollars or more in gold coins every month. Yet they refused topay overtime to the clerks hired to reproduce the important Branch Mint records lost in a tragedy.

In the end, it was found that Haraszthy did not owe the government a single cent. The bulk of the Mint's losses had occurred by running theRefinery day and night to satisfy depositor demand. Under this heavy work load, fine gold was being drawn up the Refineries chimneys and settling onthe Branch Mint's roof and the roof tops of nearby buildings.

Harazthy went on to become a famed agriculturalist in California with extensive vineyards under his watch. He passed away in 1869 in CentralAmerica, believed to have been snatched by an alligator from the bank of a river in Nicaragua or perhaps he drowned. His body was never found and mayhave simply been washed out to sea.

Dan Owens adds: