Seeks Treasure in Sea , 1925

[jeff of pa]

The Call​

Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania · Friday, February 20, 1925

 

[Mackaydon]

And this article speaks of $600,000 in gold coins. Wonder if any was recovered.
Should be an easy target (the vessel) to locate.
ENGINEERING COMPANY -
TO SEEK TREASURE IN SEA|
TOKIO, Dece;-b:r— 24, (AP)-=An 1
agreement covering a treasure hunt
at the bottom of the ssa has been '
}made by the Pelagic O:21n Eng'- j
ineering Works of Japan wit.h the :
‘Tokio Marine Insurance “>omjany. It
has to do with §600,000 in Eagiish |
gold coin, which went to the bottom
of the Mediterranean Sea when the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha liner Yasaka
Maru was torpedoed and sunk by a
German submarine in 1917. The spe
cie Bank, but is now the propery of
the insurance company, which paid
full insurance op the loss to the
bank.
Tt is agreed that if the engineering
company recovers the species it shall
retain 80 percent, returning 20 per
cent to the insurance company.
Source: https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/2022239691/1924-12-24/ed-1/seq-8/ocr/
Don in SoCal

 

[jeff of pa]

Would have been a Lot Harder to Recover a Hundred Years Ago

 

[Mackaydon]

Let's dig deeper (and please check my figures).
Gold in 1917 (and when the article was published in the 1920s) had a value of $20.67 per troy ounce.
Dividing the stated value in gold coins ($500,000) by $20.67 yields ~24,190 troy ounces. Gold, today, is roughly valued at $4,300 per troy ounce. 24,190 ounces at $4,300 per ounce is (wait for it..........)
$104,015,451.
But if the face value was equal to $500,000 the value of the gold would be 91.67% to account for the 8% of
copper alloy (assuming thc coins were King George V sovereigns). Still, 91.67% of 104 million would be a very attractive target. I wonder how well did the salvage go
Don in SoCal

 

[Mackaydon]

U-boat attacks on Passenger steamer Yasaka Maru​

Don in SoCal

	Date	U-boat	Loss type	Position	Location	Route	Cargo	Casualties
1	21 Dec 1915	U 38 (Max Valentiner)	Sunk	Torpedoed 60 miles from Port Said. 31.49N, 31.38E per KTB	31° 53'N, 31° 10'E	Tees & London - Yokohama

 

[Crow]

Here is some more info

The Japanese passenger liner SS Yasaka Maru was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea on December 21, 1915, by a German submarine. A significant portion of its cargo, which included $12.5 million in gold, was partially recovered in a salvage operation in 1925. A salvage operation was conducted in 1925, during which some of the gold was successfully recovered from a depth of 240 feet. The specific details on whether all the gold was recovered are not specified in the search results, but the mention of a partial recovery suggests not all of it might have been found or retrieved. From my understanding at this stage bar gold was recovered not coinage.

Still there could be a very viable project in the making with further research.

Crow

 

[Crow]

It appears only 100000 pounds worth of gold was only recovered.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Correction Darren was right 100000 sovereign coins was salvaged also.

Crow

 

[Red_desert]

Correction Darren was right 100000 sovereign coins was salvaged also.

View attachment 2239461

Crow

Did I read sovereigns> Those for gold should be quite collectable.

 

[Red_desert]

Let's dig deeper (and please check my figures).
Gold in 1917 (and when the article was published in the 1920s) had a value of $20.67 per troy ounce.
Dividing the stated value in gold coins ($500,000) by $20.67 yields ~24,190 troy ounces. Gold, today, is roughly valued at $4,300 per troy ounce. 24,190 ounces at $4,300 per ounce is (wait for it..........)
$104,015,451.
But if the face value was equal to $500,000 the value of the gold would be 91.67% to account for the 8% of
copper alloy (assuming thc coins were King George V sovereigns). Still, 91.67% of 104 million would be a very attractive target. I wonder how well did the salvage go
Don in SoCal

Step‑by‑step verification
1. Gold price in 1917–1920s
• The official U.S. gold price was indeed $20.67 per troy ounce during that era.
(This was fixed by law under the gold standard.)
2. Converting $500,000 in gold coins to ounces

Your number — ~24,190 troy ounces — is correct.
3. Modern gold price
You used $4,300 per troy ounce, which is a reasonable contemporary figure.
4. Modern value of that much gold

Your figure — $104,015,451 — is essentially spot‑on.
(The tiny difference is just rounding.

 

[jeff of pa]

Add the Words "Treasure Coins" & a piece of paper with The History & The price Doubles

 

[Physics guy]

Only 240 feet deep, known location, not a warship or government-owned ship so no sovereign immunity, not a war grave since no one was killed, it seems surprising there apparently haven't been any additional salvage attempts. Or maybe there have.

 

[Physics guy]

Looks like it’s more than 12 miles off the coast of Egypt, so international waters?

 

[Physics guy]

It’s the Nile delta so maybe it’s buried in sediment since it sank 100 years ago.

 

[Darren in NC]

Looks like it’s more than 12 miles off the coast of Egypt, so international waters?

Sadly, almost all nations now claim the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone - 200 miles out) as "their" territorial waters. And if they didn't, you can bet James Goold or some other enterprising lawyer would help them do so as soon as you pulled anything up.

 

[Crow]

Treasure hunters are progressively being legislated out of existence. Most of the old guard now are dead or retired living quiet life counting their money ever fearful that they get the knock on door. From some government prosecutor back dating laws to prosecute and size your assets. Some times governments turn a blind eye if they are getting what they want you can be an asset when they don't get what they want? You become disposable asset.

Crow

 

[Red_desert]

Treasure hunters are progressively being legislated out of existence. Most of the old guard now are dead or retired living quiet life counting their money ever fearful that they get the knock on door. From some government prosecutor back dating laws to prosecute and size your assets. Some times governments turn a blind eye if they are getting what they want you can be an asset when they don't get what they want? You become disposable asset.

Crow

Miracle never mentioned at Christmas/Easter or any other time... 12 Apostles were by the sea of Galilea all huddled in heavy discussion, over how to pay their taxes. When St Peter was told to throw a hook/line over there he obeyed without a question. First fish St Peter brought up had a shipwreck coin in it's mouth and covered all the taxes owed the Roman government. This version of the story is highly accurate, did a verification search first is right on the money.