Shipwreck Coins!
SS John Barry Shipwreck
1944
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Coin Details
| Origin/Country: |
SAUDI ARABIA |
| Item Description: |
Silver RIYAL AH1354(1935) Saudi Arab Philadelphia Mint |
| Full Grade: |
NGC GENUINE |
| Owner: |
Von Werner |
Owner Comments:
The SS John Barry, loaded with silver Saudi Riyals minted in Philadelphia were destined for payment for American oil operations in Saudi Arabia. The Liberty ship was torpedoed by German U-Boat U859 off the coast of Oman on August 28, 1944, bringing her entire cargo to the bottom, 1.6 miles below the surface. Her cargo remained classified until 1984!
Between October 21 and November 18, 1994, a deep sea salvage operation recovered a quantity of these Riyals.
Rumors flew that the vessel was loaded with gold bars that had been loaded secretly at its previous stop in Egypt, but no documents supported this. Regardless, a ridiculous amount of money was poured into the recovery by a Saudi Sheik but an exhaustive search only discovered the Riyals!