SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. The ship was laden with 10 short tons (9.1 t) of gold prospected during the California Gold Rush. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with 425 of her 578 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.

In the twentieth century, the ship was located by the Columbus-America Discovery Group of Ohio, led by Tommy Gregory Thompson, using Bayesian search theory. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was sent down on September 11, 1988. Significant amounts of gold and artifacts were recovered and brought to the surface by another ROV built specifically for the recovery. The total value of the recovered gold was estimated at $100-150 million. A recovered gold ingot weighing 80 pounds (36 kg) sold for a record $8 million and was recognized as the most valuable piece of currency in the world at that time.

After the recovery of the gold, 39 insurance companies filed suit, claiming that they had the right to it because they paid damages in the 19th century; the team that found it argued that the gold had been abandoned. After a legal battle, 92% of the gold was awarded to the discovery team in 1996.

Thompson was then sued in 2005 by several investors who had provided $12.5 million in financing and in 2006 by several crew members over a lack of returns for their respective investments. In 2009, he had an offshore account in the Cook Islands of $4.16 million. Thompson went into hiding in 2012. A receiver was appointed to take over Thompson's companies and, if possible, salvage more gold from the wreck, in order to recover money for Thompson's various creditors.

Thompson was located in January 2015, along with assistant Alison Antekeier, by United States Marshals Service agents and was extradited to Ohio to provide an accounting of the expedition profits. In 2018, a jury awarded investors $19.4 million in compensatory damages. Since 2015, Thompson has been incarcerated for contempt of court.

William B. Nicewanger was an investor in the Recovery, LLC and Columbus Exploration, LLC expeditions to recover the gold from the wreck of SS Central America. He is a graduate of Rose Polytechnic Institute (BSEE, 1963) and Indiana University (MBA, 1965). Retired since 2007, he was founder and president of several regional telecommunication companies and director of acquisitions for a NASDAQ listed telecom firm. He has been a passive investor in companies engaged in real estate, footwear, food products, hospitality, telecom, public storage, oil, whiskey, and software.

Description provided by donor.