Durham Treasure Coins
2013 G.Britain S50P .999 Fine SS Gairsoppa Shipwreck Silver

Owner Comments:

The SS Gairsoppa was a British steam merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat in February of 1941. She was headed to Galway, Iceland to get more coal but never made it after leaving her original convoy heading back to London from Bombay. The wreck was discovered in 2011 and an operation was put in place to recover the vast amount of silver bars she was carrying. In July of 2013, Odyssey Marine Exploration reported that it had recovered 48 tons of silver making it the "the deepest, largest precious metal recovery in history" as the Gairsoppa rests in 15,400' of water. This coin was created using a 1/4 ounce of that silver. The Royal British Mint used some of recovered ingots to produce this silver 50 pence coin in both 2013 and 2014. I purchased this coin raw from a vendor and sent it to NGC for grading. I was happy to receive the DPL grade as not very many in holders have this grade. It is a beautiful coin and a strong reminder of the volatility on the high seas during WWII.