1864-S Double Eagle Republic - 1864-S $20 Republic, NGC MS61. This highly lustrous, Civil War dated, Mint State, Western branch mint 1864-S Double Eagle comes with the provenance of the ill-fated S.S. Republic. It has a box and blue tag from NGC showing its pedigree. The coin is well struck with full details on the centers of the stars and most of the design details of the reverse. UNUM is light on the right ribbon. The dentils are full and strong on both sides. The coin shows no wear on its yellow-gold devices, as expected for a Mint State piece. The bright surfaces are original and clean, for the grade.

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 coins, but also to indicate that these coins have been professionally conserved. The blue NGC tag was used exclusively for coins from the Republic.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 because of the need to coin gold resulting from the California Gold Rush. In the West there was an abundance of gold bullion, nuggets and dust; however, there was also an acute shortage of circulating coinage. Congress authorized this mint to relieve the shortage and coin silver and gold and because transportation of bullion to Philadelphia was time consuming and hazardous. Because of its proximity to the Gold Rush area, San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new mint. In 1874 it moved into a new building called the Old United States Mint or the Granite Lady. It is one of the few structures that survived the earthquake of 1906. It remained in service as a mint until 1938, when the present facility opened.

In its first year of operation the Mint made four million dollars in gold coins from bullion. The second building, the Old United States Mint, was designed by Alfred B. Mullett in Greek Revival style. It was built in an E-shape with a central pediment portico. There was a completely enclosed courtyard that had a well. It was these features that saved it in the fire that resulted from the earthquake of 1906. The building was situated on a concrete and granite foundation that was made to prevent tunneling into its vaults. In 1906 there was $300 million, a third of the United States gold reserves, in its vaults. Frank Leach and his men worked heroically to successfully preserve the building and the bullion. The mint was able to resume service and operated until 1937. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

In 1844 James B. Longacre, designer of the double eagle, was appointed Mint Engraver through the influence of Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. After overcoming opposition by the Chief Coiner, Franklin Peale, who was fearful that the new Engraver would interfere with his illegal medal manufacturing business using the Mint facilities, Longacre did well. He 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 dollar, the three-dollar gold piece, and the Liberty Head double eagle.

The provenance of the S.S. Republic adds an air of mystery and adventure to possession of an authentic Civil War-time artifact. In its population report, NGC shows 34 1864-S double eagles from the Republic in MS61 condition with 20 better.