1857-S Double Eagle (1857-S $20) SS Republic, NGC MS60. Bright mint luster highlights the devices of this treasure 1857-S Double Eagle. The semi-prooflike surfaces show scattered light abrasion marks on both sides and a couple of small bag marks above the date, in keeping with the grade. The strike is full and sharp on both sides of the coin. These San Francisco double eagles were designed by James B. Longacre and created to use the nations gold that had been discovered in the California Gold Rush. They are Type I Liberties, also called Coronets, minted from 1849-66, with no motto. Neither In God We Trust nor E Pluribus Unum appears on the coin.

During the California Gold Rush, the S.S. Republic, then called the Tennessee, was used to transport miners to the shores of Panama and Nicaragua to travel to the California gold fields. For several years the ship was used to transport immigrants to the United States from Mexico. In 1865 she sank in a hurricane off the coast of Savannah. In 2003 the Odyssey Republic Expedition, after twelve years of searching, discovered and began the recovery of the ships treasure. The cargo of riches had lain for 138 years approximately 100 miles off the coast of Georgia. Lost Gold of the Republic, a film produced by National Geographic documents the discovery and recovery. The coins recovered from the S.S. Republic are labeled as such by NGC and its affiliate NCS not only to note the historic significance of the coin, but also to indicate that these coins have been professionally conserved. The blue NGC tag was used exclusively for coins from the Republic.