Half a century ago this July 26, America woke up to news that had many fearing a repeat of the 1912 Titanic disaster: A Swedish ship, the Stockholm had slammed into the side of an Italian luxury liner, the Andrea Doria, off Nantucket, Mass.

Rare gold brought strong prices at a Jan. 9 auction by Bowers and Merena, a division of Spectrum Numismatic Auctions.