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Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.

Posted by Cal_cobra 
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Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 02:18AM
Got a hunt in this week and got a merc, silver rosie, two toasted buffalos and toasted V nickle along with a 1909 (dagnabit no S or VDB moody smiley ), some marbles, but the neatest find was a two piece button (Scovill backmark) from the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company (PMSSC).



The Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company (PMSSC) (1848-1925) is synonymous with that of San Francisco, where the line was based throughout most of its history. Its history is also synonymous with Gold Rush transportation and with Pacific Basin trade and migrations. PMSSC was established in 1848 with lucrative U.S. mail contracts, and the first steamship to sail into San Francisco Bay was the PMSSC steamer CALIFORNIA, arriving on February 28, 1849.

Here is one of the great ironies of history: Departing from New York before the discovery of gold in California had become well known, the wooden side-paddle-wheeler stopped in Panama to pick up a few passengers on route to San Francisco. But at Panama, the ship instead found hundreds of gold-seekers waiting to board. They had made their way down the East Coast after hearing of the discovery at Sutter's Mill, and crossed the Isthmus. Upon reaching San Francisco, all the passengers disembarked for the gold fields east of Sacramento. To the captain's disdain, so did most of the crew!



Pacific Mail also became the principal means of transport to California in the 19th Century for Japanese immigrants, and for the Chinese immigrants who built the trans-continental railroad. Both migrations vastly enriched California's economy and culture. And PMSSC was vociferous in its defense of the rights of Chinese crew members and workers.

Pacific Mail transitioned into Dollar Line, also San Francisco-based, and in 1938, Dollar Line's name was changed to American President Lines (today's APL, a global container-shipping company).

PMSSC in essence represents the origins of the steamship business on San Francisco Bay. But more important, the company -- born more than 150 years ago in Gold Rush days-- played a critical role in the development of San Francisco, the State of California, the United States, and the Pacific Basin.

The "Tennessee" was on Pacific Mail's Panama-San Francisco run when she ran aground at Tennessee Cove in Marin County in 1853. This Sarony & Major litho, ca. 1850, belonged to Renee Pierre Schwerin of San Francisco, the company's VP and General Manager in the late 19th Century.


Pacific Mail Company's offices on the southeast corner of First and Market, 1896.
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 03:55AM
That PMSSC button is really cool, that is the first time I have seen that one.

Nice,

Randy
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 10:05AM
Nice hit on the button, Brian and interesting history read.thumbs down HH jim tn
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 10:41AM
Great finds, Brian!
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 11:40AM
Good read, great finds! Look closely how labor intense the old building was. Mason work at its finest. Is that building still there?
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 01:19PM
Great find! Great read!

Thanks!

Dean
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 03:21PM
Very nice contribution to the forum, Cal_, and a tremendous find with that button! Congrats on all the nice finds.

Wayne

Pleasant Garden, NC
AT Max, Nokta Impact, MX Sport, Nokta FORS Relic, GPX 4800, Infinium, Racer, Deus, F75SE, Nautilus DMC II (order of acquisition, last to first)

Does an archeologist argue with a plow? A bureaucrat with a bulldozer?
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 03:23PM
Awesome finds Brian!!
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 05:59PM
Nice finds and story with history to boot.

Congrats
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 07:29PM
Nice Button!!

Nice pic ..

I love buttons of Old!!!

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
July 30, 2016 08:01PM
Thanks everyone, the best part about detecting is you just never know what you'll find, and once and a while you get a fun surprise!


ozzie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good read, great finds! Look closely how labor
> intense the old building was. Mason work at its
> finest. Is that building still there?

Ozzie I looked at the google street view and the PMSSC building doesn't appear to still be there, but there are several other 1800's buildings there (dwarfed by their modern counterparts!). I'm in that area a couple of times a month for business meetings, I'll walk around down there the next time I'm in the area and see if I can spot that building. It's a shame they didn't provide the address, that would make it easy.
Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
August 02, 2016 01:41AM
Congrats on the button find.
Very nice history write-up.

Detecting since Feb, 2010
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Re: Latest digs including historic Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company button.
August 02, 2016 01:55AM
Some really lovely finds,what i find interesting is the great indepth historical articles that you have attached as well.