Gold treasure recovered from 1857 shipwreck to make debut

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - More than $50 million worth of gold bars, coins and dust described as the greatest lost treasure in U.S. history is about to make its public debut in California.

The 3,100 gold coins, 45 gold bars and a trove of gold dust sat at the bottom of the ocean for more than 150 years.

The gold was recovered in 2014 from the wreckage of the S.S. Central America steamship and is now sitting in a makeshift laboratory just south of Los Angeles.

The gold is getting hand-cleaned of decades of gunk ahead of its public display next month.

The Central America was laden with booty from the California Gold Rush when it sank in a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina in 1857. Four hundred and twenty-five people drowned and the loss of the gold contributed to an economic panic.