1861 $20 SS Republic (1861 Double Eagle SS Republic) NGC MS61. Type 1 Double Eagle. This mint state, shipwrecked 1861 Double Eagle from the S.S. Republic shimmers with bright golden luster. The sharp strike is illustrated with the full details on centers of the obverse stars as well as the design details of the reverse. Of course, no wear is seen as expected for a mint state coin. For the grade, the surfaces are original, clean, and free of major distractions.

James Barton Longacre designed the pattern for the twenty dollar double eagle in 1849. It was produced because of the huge amount of gold that came into the Mint from California. With the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in January 1848, the California gold rush began. It led to an influx of miners and others into the area. The vast quantity of gold produced led to a need for a standard form of exchange. The double eagle was the governments response. They also felt that the double eagle would be useful for large commercial transactions and that it would facilitate foreign trade.

During the California Gold Rush, the S.S. Republic, then called the Tennessee, was used to transport miners to the shore of Panama and Nicaragua to travel to the California gold fields. For several years the ship was used to carry immigrants to the Unites States from Mexico. When the Civil War began, the ship was docked in New Orleans. She was seized by the Confederates and used as a blockade runner. After the capture of New Orleans by the North, she became the flagship of Admiral Farragut for the end of the Mississippi Campaign. In 1864, she resumed transporting passengers and cargo from New York to New Orleans. The next year 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 had been untouched for 138 years approximately 100 miles off the coast of Georgia. Lost Gold of the Republic, a film produced by National Graphic 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.

Longacres double eagle design was a new concept that endured well past the turn of the century. When Longacre first came to work at the Mint, he was opposed by Franklin Peale, the Chief Coiner. Peale was probably responsible for some blundered dies that Longacre was criticized for making. Peal was involved in a private, illegal medal manufacturing business using Mint facilities. He was concerned that this new political appointee would interfere with his business, and he resisted Longacres appointment as Chief Engraver. In the end Peale was found out and fired in 1854. Longacre flourished in his position and was responsible for creating many new designs including the Indian Head cent, the Two-cent piece, the Shield nickel, the Liberty Head gold dollar, the Indian Princess gold dollars, the Three dollar gold piece, and, the Liberty Head double eagle.