There was a few years back a fellow named Tommy Thompson who, after many years of searching and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent, discovered the resting place of the S.S. Central America off the coast of the Carolinas. As soon as he began to bring up the gold coins the insurance company vultures swooped in to make their claims. The Federal Admiralty Courts, wisely, declared what Tommy found was lost and abandoned and awarded him full rights. Insurance companies collect their premiums religiously but are not so religiously inclined to pay their claims, even when totally just. Nash and his family were compensated for the loss at the time, we presume at the fair market value at the time. I don't know what the dollar figure was but twenty years or so later Burt Becker wrote that he could not build a replacement for Bo Whoop for less than $750.00. Nash sold Bo Whoop II to Dr. Chubby Andrews for X dollars. What would it be worth today if it was to come to market? I have no dog in this fight and I'm not going to be a bidder, but if every family descendant could lay claim to something an ancestor lost or sold at the "then" price we all might be coughing up some of our prized guns.
Just My Humble Opinion......George
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