The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 47, November 21, 2004, Article 2

TIMES ARTICLE ON REPUBLIC COIN RECOVERY

  On Tuesday, November 16, The New York Times published an
  article about the efforts to recover artifacts, including
  coins, from the wreck of the S.S. Republic:

  "A seven-ton submersible robot held pride of place. Its
  flexible arm was equipped with tiny suction cups made of
  soft flexible plastic for carefully picking up rare coins
  that can fetch up to half a million dollars each. The
  robot is one example of the sophistication and technological
  precision of this salvage effort, which leaders say
  surpasses any previous shipwreck salvage."?

  "The recovery has not always been smooth. When the robot
  gingerly picked up its first gold coin, it fumbled, dropping
  it back onto the seabed instead of into the impromptu holding
  tank, an old chamber pot."

  One year and more than 52,000 coins later, the team has set
  new records in deep recovery. From the disintegrating hulk of
  the sidewheel steamer that sank in 1865 about 100 miles off
  Georgia while battling a hurricane, the robot has plucked gold
  and silver coins valued at more than $75 million. And it is
  pursuing billions more in lost treasure.

  "We've gotten really good at picking up coins," said Greg
  Stemm, director of operations for Odyssey Marine Exploration
  Inc. of Tampa, Fla."

  "Rare coins have a high priority since their sale promises to
  repay the recovery's high cost. But at first, the team had no
  idea how to gather them up carefully and expeditiously when
  even the slightest scratch could greatly reduce their value.
  Much testing ensued.

  The tiny suction cups proved safe and efficient. More
  troublesome was finding the right holding devices for
  transporting coins to the surface, despite Mr. Stemm's
  extensive hunt for solutions. Plastic colanders and ice cube
  trays proved unworkable.

  Finally, the team hit on large kitchen pots lined with carpet,
  fitted with wide funnels and filled with a dense vegetable oil
  that kept the coins snug and secure. By January, the team was
  tucking away an average of 1,700 coins a day, one every 50
  seconds."

  To read the full article, see:Full Article

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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