SS CENTRAL AMERICA KNIGHT'S CROSS MEDAL

Among the interesting and enigmatic artifacts recovered from the S.S. Central America is a medal of the Knight's Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus found in the first cabin area. The history of the order transitioned over time from the separate Order of Saint Lazarus, the Patron Saint of Lepers, established pre-1100 in Palestine and the Order of Saint Maurice, the Patron Saint of Savoy, established in the 1400s.

Both monastic brotherhoods evolved into hereditary military institutions of the nobility within the Catholic Church. The orders were combined in 1572 in the face of challenges from the Protestant Reformation and Muslim military activities in the Mediterranean region. Badges of the two orders were combined to form a white-enameled cross bottony of the Order of Saint Maurice, with a green-enameled Maltese Cross, the Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus, placed in saltire between the arms of the cross bottony.

The badge of each class except that of Knight and Dame is topped by a gilt crown. The modern knight's badge is 41mm across, while that of a dame is slightly smaller at 37mm. The specimen in this auction is 64 x 60 mm and weighs approximately 30 grams. It is double-sided -- each side being practically identical -- and in excellent condition, with a slight staining of the raised bottony knobs on each side.

 

 

The SS Central America Artifacts Auction catalog has 268 pages of detailed treasure stories about the people, jewelry, gold and goods onboard the famous "Ship of Gold" that sank off the North Carolina coast in 1857 with tons of gold on board. While the coins and nuggets have already been sold and are in thousands of collections around the world, the artifacts are only just now released, available for the first time, as part of a two part sale in December and February. Online auction platforms do not carry the wealth of information found in the catalog, inclusive of three-dimensional photographs of the items on the seafloor as they were discovered. Get your limited edition printed catalogs today and enjoy the fascinating world of the SS Central America treasure.

Catalog A features shipwreck artifacts retrieved exclusively from the S.S. Central America The Ship of Gold, and is presented in a collectors edition spiral bound format inclusive of 3D Glasses and 3D underwater imagery of the spectacular treasure artifacts as they were discovered on the ocean floor.

Catalog B contains complimentary Gold Rush era artifacts including gold, gold pokes, Gold Rush related documents and more.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Knight's Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus with Passenger Receipt [146650] (https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/Knight-s-Cross-of-the-Order-of-Saints-Maurice-and-Lazarus-with-Passenger-Receipt-146650_i46905195)

To watch the recovery video, see:
SSCA Recovery of the Knights Cross, Lot 1145 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQFAd3fOL-I)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
S.S. CENTRAL AMERICA ARTIFACT CATALOGS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n45a02.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web