1850 Double Eagle (1850 $20) Republic, NGC AU58. Ex-SS Republic (blue tag & box). 1850 $20 Liberty Head, No Motto, SS Republic (blue tag), Double Eagle. The SS Republic, formerly named the SS Tennessee, was a sidewheel steamer that had been placed into service in 1853.

During the Civil War she had sailed under the flags of both the Confederate and Union navies. At wars end, under her new name, she had left New York laden with cargo and coins desperately needed to aid in the post-war reconstruction efforts. Bound for New Orleans, she would become caught in a ferocious hurricane and on October 25, 1865 she sank to the depths off the coast of Georgia. Her cargo, including this beautiful gold double eagle went to the bottom with her.

138 years later the SS Republic was located and by 2005 her fabulous treasure, including this piece, had been recovered much to the delight of numismatists, investors, and historians around the globe. A wondrous cache of silver and gold coins were brought to market and have been exceptionally popular since. Fortunately, the conditions in the deep ocean water while abrasive to the silver coins resting there, did not damage the gold coins. Therefore, remarkably, this flashy double eagle was recovered in the same condition as when it was lost just months after the Civil War concluded.

The delightful double eagle offered here is a lovely golden wheat color and displays only very modest touches of wear evenly over the highest points of the devices. The strike is sharp and the piece has a flashy and pleasing eye appeal. Issued during the height of the California Gold Rush a decade prior to the Civil War, this coin is a terrific and historic memento of one of the most interesting times in American History as well as an important and stunning piece of a famous shipwreck treasure.