1541

Large gold buckle with engraved front, S J Ramage engraved on back, ex-S.S. Central America (1857).

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:2,400.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,500.00 USD
Large gold buckle with engraved front, S J Ramage engraved on back, ex-S.S. Central America (1857).
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Large gold buckle with engraved front, S J Ramage engraved on back, ex-S.S. Central America (1857). 17.03 grams total. 2¼" x 1½". Electronically tested at 18K and in excellent condition with highly polished surfaces, its central bar loose from its pivots because the tiny (probably brass) pins that held it in place are missing. Engraving on the back reads // S J Ramage //. Samuel J. Ramage was born in Ohio in 1830, lived in Coloma in the southern part of the San Francisco peninsula, and died there in April 1870 of pulmonary tuberculosis, although "Samuel Ramage" is not found in any California directory of the time. George Ramage was a long-time merchant in San Francisco in the 1850s-1860s. J.J. and J. Ramage were jewelers in Ontario, Canada, in 1856. In any case, there was no Ramage on board the SS Central America when it sank. He may have been with relatives, perhaps unwell, and this buckle may have been on the way to him. This piece is certified as being recovered in 2014 from an "Unspecified Coin Pile, Port-Side Debris Field." From the S.S. Central America (1857), pedigreed to the Holabird auction of March 2023, with original lot-tag 1040 and small certificate signed by Holabird and Bob Evans.