1865-S $20 (1865-S Double Eagle) Brother Jonathan 825, PCGS MS62. This branch mint Civil War dated 1865-S Double Eagle is fully struck on both sides. On the obverse, the centers of the stars and the hair details are strong. On the reverse all of the design elements are bold, as usual for this denomination. Bright mint luster shimmers from the coins surfaces. Not a trace of wear is seen even on the high points of the design, in keeping with the grade.

The S.S. Brother Jonathan was built in 1851 by Edward Mills, a New Yorker who wanted to operate a shipping business during the Gold Rush era. The ship was 220 feet long and 36 feet wide. It traveled from New York to Panama. Its passengers would cross the Isthmus of Panama and proceed to California in another ship.

The next year, Cornelius Vanderbilt purchased the Brother Jonathan to replace one of his ships that had been wrecked. He had it sail around Cape Horn and used on the Pacific to travel to California. Vanderbilt had the ship rebuilt to handle more passengers.

In 1856 the ship was sold to Captain John Wright, who renamed her the Commodore. She traveled up the coast from San Francisco to Vancouver and back.  By 1861, the ship was in poor condition. It was sold to the California Steam Navigation Company and retrofitted. Her original name was restored and she continued to service the route from San Francisco to Vancouver. She was one of the fastest ships to sail that route and had a reputation for being one of the finest steamers on the Pacific Coast.

In 1865, the ship was headed from San Francisco to Portland. It carried about 150 passengers, a crew of 60 and a large cargo that included an unknown quantity of gold coins. The ship ran into heavy winds and put in to port at Crescent City. In the morning the voyage was resumed, but the seas were still rough. The captain ordered it returned to port, but it struck a submerged rock that was hidden just below the surface of the water. The ship sank along with most of the passengers, crew, and captain.

In the 1990s a group of investors formed Deep Sea Research, Inc. and found the ship. More than 1000 gold coins were recovered that consisted mainly of 1865-S double eagles. The coin has been encapsulated by PCGS with a special insert indicating its provenance as coin number 825 recovered from the S.S. Brother Jonathan.