Treasure Ship: The Legend and Legacy of the S.S. Brother Jonathan (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press)

The half-city-block long sidewheeler, S.S. Brother Jonathan, struck an uncharted reef in 1865 off Northern California. Sinking underneath the seas in 45 minutes, the ship took down with her multi-million-dollars of newly minted gold coins and bullion. Only 19 hardy souls survived out of 244 people on board, including a near “who’s who” of the famous personalities of the times. Although tantalizingly close to land and despite countless attempts to locate the ship and its gold, the ship’s location remained a secret for over 125 years--that is, until a band of underfunded adventurers used different assumptions and found it and its treasures. Not only did Deep Sea Research bring up over 1000 near-invaluable gold coins, it also found trouble, including a historic maritime decision by the U.S. Supreme Court over who owned the treasure--and what was still there.