HISTORY OF THESE COINS

History of the SS Republic

Built in Baltimore and christened in 1853 the USS Tennessee served in both the Union Navy then captured by the Confederates during the Civil War.  She was considered a Hybrid because it ran on steam power and wind.  She fought vigorously in several Battles.  The flag ship of Admiral David Farragut’s who originally coined the phrase: “Damn the torpedoes-full speed ahead,” at the Battle of Mobile.

“She was an industrial marvel, 210 feet long by 34 feet wide with a massive single piston engine driving two 28-foot iron side-wheels.  The stout ship could transport 100 passengers and fit 5,000 barrels of cargo in her hold” ……Quote from unknown author.

After her hull was damaged in a gale her military career ended, purchased by a New York shipping magnate in 1865 and renamed the SS Republic. Extensively repaired she made regular runs from New York to New Orleans with cargo and coins to regenerate New Orleans post-war economy.

These coins were minted in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 1861-O is of significant interest because the coin was minted under three different governments:  First, the Union for part of January 1861 then Louisiana was its own Territory for 28 days and then the Confederates. There are 18 different attributions to this coins as the dies were mixed and matched, some with die cracks and other abnormalities that distinguish when and who minted these coins. The coins were loaded on board the ship SS Republic in 1865, bound for New Orleans, never reaching her destination the ship sunk in a fierce hurricane.  Almost all of the passengers survived by boarding lifeboats and a makeshift raft. The cargo meant to help rebuild New Orleans was reported as $400,000 (1865 face value) worth of gold and silver.  The coins laid undisturbed by man under the ocean for 138 years off the coast of Georgia. A crew of treasure hunters and historians launched a company named ‘Odyssey Marine Exploration’.  They outfitted a ship and after years of planning and searching the Ocean, the “Odyssey Exploration” Ship with a submersible submarine tethered in-tandem found the shipwreck. The submersible fitted with a suction cup picked up many coins one by one. Some were found in Barrels.  After a few months they had recovered roughly 17,000 coins and artifacts.

All our coins of this type are authenticated by NGC and have the attribution of ‘Shipwreck Effect’ on the label.

Comes with the Certificate of Authenticity.