S.S. Central America Wreck Factors In Marketplace Devastation

It was the best of times and the worst of times. For most of the year 1857, there was strong economic expansion across the board, calling for increased amounts of coins from the mints. In the same breath, however, came the tragedy of Sept. 12, when many travelers lost their lives in the sinking of the S.S. Central America.

This was the year that coin collecting really took hold in the United States as a national hobby and it was nearly all due to the dramatic changes to the cent, which took place in May of that year. It all began several years earlier.

During 1852 and 1853 the price of copper planchets, purchased ready-made from private companies outside the Philadelphia Mint, was frequently as high as 40 cents per pound, and had on one occasion gone to 42 cents. The coining rate for the United States large cent was 41-2/3 cents per pound, so even at 40 cents there was a distinct loss to the public when transportation and labor charges were added to the basic planchet cost. It was becoming clear to mint officers that the large cent was doomed and that a replacement had to be found.

Melter & Refiner James Booth, a Mint officer, prepared several different alloys for cent