COINS FROM THE FAMED SS REPUBLIC CERTIFIED BY NGC

Numismatic Conservation Services and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation have been awarded the exclusive contract to conserve and grade the thousands of coins being recovered from the 1865 shipwreck of SS Republic. These gold and silver coins are being brought to the surface by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. of Tampa, Florida. Some of the highlights from this ongoing operation are featured here to showcase the amazing work performed by NCS to professionally conserve these treasures and by NGC to certify and encapsulate them for longterm preservation.

CONSULT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COINS AND THE WRECK OF THE SS REPUBLIC:

www.shipwreck.net
www.ngccoin.com
www.ncscoin.com
www.kagins.com
www.money.org

The San Francisco Mint coined only 16,700 gold eagles in 1865, so this date was destined to be very scarce in any grade. Before the recovery of SS Republic's treasure this issue was virtually unknown in mint state. Indeed, this is the first uncirculated example certified by NGC. More than that, however, it features a very rare and highly desired variety. Numerals 186 of the date were first applied to the die upside down and then corrected. The first punching is clearly visible on this lovely coin. Ablaze with bright, satiny luster, this splendid rarity is a true prize.

Among the keys to completing a series of Coronet Double Eagles is the very rare 1861 San Francisco Mint twenty with the distinctive Paquet Reverse. Unknown in mint state, this lustrous specimen is as fine as they come.

While perhaps a hundred survivors are known of the 1861-S Paquet twenty, most are heavily worn and/or damaged. This choice, nearly mint example would be the highlight of any collection of Coronet Double Eagles.

The U. S. Mint made mostly minor modifications to all coin types between 1858 and 1861. Far more obvious than most of these is Anthony C. Paquet's interpretation of James B. Longacre's original reverse design of the double eagle. For the coinage of 1861 Paquet replaced Longacre's well proportioned lettering with his own brand of tall, severe letters. His modified reverse dies were supplied to the branch mints at San Francisco and New Orleans before being properly tested at Philadelphia. They quickly proved unsuitable, and their use was halted, but not before San Francisco coined and issued just 19,250 pieces.

To date, NGC has graded no 1861-S Paquet $20 in any higher grade than this coin, tying it for finest known.

The 1854-O double eagle is a tremendous rarity today, with no more than 25-30 examples known in all grades. Even some of the most notable collections of the past have lacked this elusive issue. To date, no uncirculated pieces have been confirmed, and VF-XF is the typical grade range for this important Double Eagle.

By the mid-1830s, westward expansion coupled with a gold rush in the Appalachian Mountains had begun to stretch the small supply of money in the Southern United States to its limit. In 1835, public outcry prompted Congress to pass legislation establishing a trio of Branch Mints in the South. The longest-lived of these, the United States Branch Mint at New Orleans, would begin striking coinage in 1838.

Prior to the Civil War, New Orleans was a major port of entry for gold and silver bullion from Latin America; it also received much of the newly mined gold coming from California. For several years, much of this bullion was converted to coin at the New Orleans Branch Mint. In April of 1854, a mint was established at San Francisco, allowing California gold to be coined almost as soon as it left the ground. As a consequence, deposits of gold at the New Orleans Mint dropped, and only 3,250 double eagles were struck there in 1854, among the lowest mintages recorded for 'O' Mint twenties.

The remarkable quality of the specimen presented here is thus a banner headline in American numismatics. Having been recovered just recently from the wreck of SS Republic, it is previously unknown to the hobby and uncounted in any census. Its great rarity as a date, combined with its historic provenance, assures that it will receive a wealth of attention from the collecting community.

Numismatic Conservation Services and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation have been awarded the exclusive contract to conserve and grade the thousands of coins being recovered from the 1865 shipwreck of SS Republic. These gold and silver coins are being brought to the surface by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. of Tampa, Florida. Some of the highlights from this ongoing operation are featured here to showcase the work performed by NCS to professionally conserve these treasures and by NGC to certify and encapsulate them for long-term preservation.