1845-O Eagle Republic - 1845-O $10 Republic, NGC AU55. This New Orleans 1845-O Eagle SS Republic comes with the provenance of the ill-fated S.S. Republic. The piece has subdued mint luster within its devices on both sides of the coin. A bit of wear on the highest points keeps it from an Uncirculated grade. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no individual abrasion marks worthy of description. The obverse strike is a bit uneven with full details on more than half of the stars; the reverse is stronger with full details on the eagles neck and the area to the lower left of the shield.

On October 25, 1865, the S.S. Republic was lost in a violent hurricane. While most of the passengers and crew escaped, the cargo of gold coins and other goods was lost. Almost 140 years later the Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the Republic off the coast of Georgia. Robotics was used to excavate the wreck because it was at a depth of 1,700 feet. Over 50,000 coins were recovered from the shipwreck, including the present piece. The coin has been encapsulated with NGCs special blue label, which has been used only for coins from the S.S. Republic.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. The bill that Jackson signed also authorized the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed all three branch mint buildings. The New Orleans Mint building was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.

Christian Gobrecht designed the eagle. He was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. Gobrecht was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

The S.S. Republic had 19 1845-O eagles among its treasure. In its population report, NGC shows 7 of them in AU55 condition with 3 better. PCGS has none of this date from the Republic.