Recovery efforts on a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of South Carolina has yielded gold, now worth millions of dollars. The first inventory of the cargo from the SS Central America is being fought over in court.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Smith ruled on an ownership dispute, granting salvage rights to Recovery Limited Partnership. Another Virginia federal judge overseeing the recovery efforts released tallies of the ship's contents Wednesday, which were brought out from April to June. Odyssey Marine Exploration had been hired to lead the latest dive investigation.

The New York-bound steamship was wrecked in a hurricane in 1857, sending treasure from the California Gold Rush and 425 people aboard to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean about 160 miles off the South Carolina coast. At the time of its sinking, the lost cargo caused a slight financial panic.

The Associated Press estimated the value of the gold coins and bars to be around $50 million in 1988 when the ship was originally discovered in by Tommy Thompson from Ohio, a current fugitive from lawsuits filed by investors conned by Thompson. The inventories include 43 gold bars, 1,302 $20 double-eagle gold coins, 37 $10 eagle gold coins and 9,035 10-cent silver pieces that have been collected.

According to Associated Press, the $20 and $10 coins, some dating back to 1823, could bring in "up to $9 million, potentially more" based on another treasure from an 1865 shipwreck.

However, gold evaluation is a complicated process, due to "myriad factors," said Associated Press. Value estimates made in 2000 on SS Central America gold bars weighing up to 54 pounds were priced at $8,000 to $250,000 each.

Beyond the precious metals, crews found personal items such as eyeglasses and glass-plate photographs known as ambrotypes.

The scientist leading the recovery efforts said the amount and variety of the ship's cargo was "astonishing."