1865 Double Eagle SS Republic - 1865 $20 SS Republic, NGC MS61 CAC. This brilliant, Mint State, Civil War dated 1865 Double Eagle comes from the shipwreck of the S.S. Republic. It has a box and blue tag from NGC showing this provenance. The coin is boldly struck with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, and the design details of the reverse, especially the eagle. The surfaces are clean for the grade as attested to by the CAC sticker. It indicates that the coin is of premium quality and fully merits the assigned grade.

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.

James B. Longacre designed the double eagle. It shows a Liberty head facing left, wearing coronet inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is tightly tied in the back with two loose curls hanging down her neck to the end of the truncation. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars with the date below. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with elaborate ribbons on both sides of the shield extending from the top corner down to the eagles tail feathers. The ribbons are inscribed, on the left E PLURIBUS and UNUM on the right. The ribbons were added to the design to symbolize the denomination since this was the first twenty dollar coin. There is an oval of thirteen stars above the eagles head and an arc of rays from wing tip to wing tip behind the upper half of the oval. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc above the eagle, and the denomination TWENTY D. is below.

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 dollar, the three-dollar gold piece, and the Liberty Head double eagle.

In its population report, CAC does not distinguish salvaged coins; however, as of November 2012, they have confirmed 3 1865 double eagles in MS61 condition with 25 better.