whose death was partially responsible for the mint's failure to begin operating. For its final voyage, crates of gold coins had been loaded on the vessel, including the annual treaty payments in gold for Indian tribes, Wells Fargo shipments consigned for Portland and Vancouver, and gold carried on board by the passengers. A large ship's safe safeguarded jewelry, more gold coins, and gold bars. The gold alone was valued at $50 million in today's dollars. Divers and ships began searching for the sunken treasure two weeks after the disaster, but despite the attempts of numerous people, for over 125 years, the ship's treasure of gold and artifacts were not found, although a fisherman in the 1930s claimed to have found of gold bars from the wreck in his nets. As it was illegal to own gold bars at the time due to Executive Order 6102, he kept the discovery a secret until 1974 when he sold them. Modern recovery efforts Despite the fact that Brother Jonathan sank just from Crescent City, the storms, rocky passageways, underwater currents, and underwater darkness prevented it from being found. Technology needed to improve and explorers had to change their assumptions before the ship could be found. On the last day of their 1993 expedition, men involved with Deep Sea Research (DSR) decided that the ship had drifted underwater to hit bottom from where it smashed into the rock. Led by Donald Knight (whose father had found a piece of the wreckage), and under risky conditions, a mini-sub on October 1, 1993, discovered the ship in the predicted location. Over time, the team began to bring artifacts back from a depth of . In 1996, a mini-sub passed a "glint" on the bottom, raising curiosity. On August 30, 1996, divers found 875 gold coins from the 1860s in near-mint condition. Over time, the salvors recovered 1,207 gold coins, primarily $20 double eagles. Among the thousands of other items eventually raised were 19th-century cut-crystal sherry glasses, white porcelain plates, beer mugs, terracotta containers (once holding mineral water from Germany), glassware, cups, glass containers, multi-faceted cruet bottles, wine and champagne bottles, crates of goods (including axe handles and doorknobs) and tinctures of medicine. While recovery efforts were being conducted, lawsuits abounded involving the salvors, the State of California, and numismatic experts. California took the legal position that it owned the rights to the wreck and everything located