The Lost Gold of San Francisco

Gold lost during the 1906 earthquake and fire fuels a mystery set in 1989

“The images of 1906 are vivid and compelling. The depictions of modern San Francisco are equally satisfying. A love letter to a place Castleman knows intimately and adores.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Part historical fiction, part can’t-put-it-down contemporary mystery. An uncommon combination of fact and fiction that makes San Francisco come to life.” —Sacramento Bee

“A seismic mystery that begins with the 1906 earthquake and climaxes with the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.” — San Jose Mercury-News

“Unforgettable. A thrill ride through San Francisco, from its posh parties to its dark underside, showcasing characters who could only hail from the city by the bay.” —Marin Independent Journal

This intricately plotted mystery thriller is charged by priceless missing Mint gold framed between the two big earthquakes of 1906 and 1989. The day before the 1906 earthquake, the US Army failed to pick up $130,000 in misstruck $20 gold pieces at the San Francisco Mint. These coins’ S mint marks had been accidentally double-struck SS and they were to be melted down in Denver. After the Big One, the coins disappear; only two are ever found. These are the most storied coins in US history, with the others known as the Lost Gold of San Francisco. In 1989 Chester Worthington Gilchrist III, billionaire publisher of the San Francisco Foghorn newspaper donates his priceless coin collection — with one of the SS pieces — to the California Museum. Then the founder of the Museum, a controversial figure, turns up murdered. Brash reporter Ed Rosenberg chases the story. More bodies drop and Ed suspects a connection to the Lost Gold.