100 Objects #23: Coin From the Ship of Gold
A ship carrying thousands of pounds of gold sank, destined for New York City banks. The loss is significant as it was meant for vaults.
Original reporting · 99percentinvisible.org
Read “100 Objects #23: Coin From the Ship of Gold” at 99% Invisible →
How this was written. CTCV wrote this article with a language model from 99% Invisible’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from 99% Invisible’s report
- A ship sank with thousands of pounds of gold on board.
- The gold was destined for New York City banks.
- The ship had 600 people on board when it set sail.
A ship set sail from the Port of San Francisco with a large quantity of gold on August 20th, 1857. The gold was intended for the vaults of New York City banks, but it never arrived. Instead, the ship sank to the bottom of the ocean, taking the gold with it. The ship had 600 people on board when it set sail.
The ship's cargo was significant, consisting of thousands of pounds of gold. This gold was meant to be stored in the vaults of New York City banks, indicating its importance to the financial institutions. The loss of the ship and its cargo is substantial, given the value of the gold it was carrying.
The incident occurred on August 20th, 1857, when the ship sank. The fact that the ship was carrying such a large quantity of gold suggests that it was an important vessel, and its loss would have been felt by the banks and individuals who were expecting the gold to arrive in New York City. This article is based on reporting by 99% Invisible.
Questions and answers
What was the ship carrying when it sank?
The ship was carrying thousands of pounds of gold.
Where was the gold destined for?
The gold was meant for the vaults of New York City banks.



