Divers find stash of rare gold coins at site of 1800s wreck off NC coast

A stash of gold coins found Monday is the latest piece of evidence that a shipwreck 40-plus miles off the North Carolina coast is that of the steamship Pulaski, which took half its wealthy passengers to the bottom of the Atlantic in 1838.

Divers found 14 gold coins and 24 silver coins in a spot "no bigger than a cigar box." All predate the Pulaski's sinking and include one British coin that experts say could be worth $100,000. Other gold coins in the collection are valued in the $10,000 to $12,000 range, officials said.

"This evidence supports reports that valuables, including gold and silver, were aboard the Pulaski when she sank," Sinclair said in a statement. ...

The disappearance of Pulaski remains one of the nation's most dramatic and deadly maritime disasters, partly because half on board died, but also because its passengers included some of the most prominent families in the Southeast. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...e196911119.html

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