Historic 1865 SS Republic Shipwreck Coins

The year was 1865…
Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated.
The Civil War had just ended.
All 11 states of the Southern Confederacy lay in ruin. 

The agricultural economy, the plantation system, and the social order of the South were gone forever.  As Reconstruction began in 1865, the owners of the paddle wheeler steamship, the S.S. Republic embarked on an ill-fated journey leaving New York headed to New Orleans.  

It was a voyage that met disaster in a hurricane and ended with a shipwreck and $400,000 in gold and silver specie lost at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for the next 138 years.

This is the story of the SS Republic's ill-fated voyage of 1865, it's recent discovery, and how Austin Rare Coins will release to the American public an an historic group of Pre-Civil War, Silver Half Dollars recovered from the shipwreck.

Reconstruction After the War
The Civil War ended in 1865.  The South was an economic disaster.  By October it was clear that something must be done immediately to begin Reconstruction. Part of that help was to supply money for trade and commerce. 

That money came in the form of $400,000 in gold and silver coins aboard the S.S. Republic that was being transferred from Northern banks to New Orleans.

Aboard the ship was also cargo consigned by what today we might call entrepreneurs.  In the South, they came to be known as "carpetbaggers."  The 59 passengers and crew shared space aboard the S.S. Republic with a mixed cargo from pepper sauce to pickles, Champagne to mustard, and even patent medicine.  The Northern sellers had sent the South what they thought New Orleans folks would be eager and willing to buy.

At the beginning of Reconstruction in the South, there were also many practical items aboard the ship like slates and chalk to be used in new black schools for recently freed slaves.    

Gold and Silver Replaced Worthless Paper Money
Also aboard the S.S. Republic steamship was a shipment of U.S. Mint gold and silver coins– real money for use in daily commerce to replace the worthless Confederate paper currency.  The total value of the gold and silver exceeded $400,000, a substantial sum in 1865.

New Orleans was the banking, financial center, and world trade center for the South before the Civil War and in 1865, a time when Louisiana had already returned to join the Union States, the United States of America.

Steam Wheelers Trade in New Orleans
The port of New Orleans had paddle wheelers in and out daily with cargo moving up the Mississippi River and through the Gulf and Atlantic Oceans headed back east or to Europe. 

Louisiana was a world trade center with Mexico and South America in the 1800’s trading cotton, coffee, bananas, and other goods.  Long before the Gold Rush of 1849, sailing ships and steam ships alike traveled back and forth from New Orleans to California. 

To conduct commerce worldwide, New Orleans traders and merchants needed money, real money, not worthless Confederate money.  The most acceptable money in those days was genuine gold and silver coins of the United States government– this was hard currency, money people around the world believed in and trusted.

Before we continue with the shipwreck story, we'd like to share with you some fascinating background and the broad history of the SS Republic steam wheeler.

SS Republic Boasted of a Rich Seafaring Legacy

By the time the ship was lost in 1865, the SS Republic boasted a history so remarkable as to seem far-fetched.

Built in Baltimore at the height of the steam age, she was first christened the SS Tennessee in 1853.  She was an industrial marvel, 210 feet long by 34 feet wide with a massive single piston driving two 28-foot iron side wheels.  

The stout steamship could transport 100 passengers and fit 5,000 barrels of cargo in her hold.  In 1856, she was outfitted for passengers and transported miners to California during the gold rush days.  At the onset of the Civil War, the Tennessee was impounded by the Confederate navy as a blockade runner.  

Union ships were dispatched to hunt her down, but it wasn't until the capture of New Orleans in 1862 that the ship fell into Union hands.  Thereafter, she was turned into a well-armed fighting machine and became a flagship during several of Admiral Farragut's key Civil War battles. 

Her Final Voyage
The S.S. Tennessee’s Union military career ended abruptly when her hull was damaged in a gale.  In 1865, a New York shipping magnate bought the crippled ship, extensively refitted the ship, and renamed her SS Republic.  She was soon making regular runs from New York to New Orleans with shipments of cargo and coins to fuel the city's expanding post-war economy.

The Republic steamed out of New York on October 18, 1865, bound for New Orleans on her final voyage. On the fifth day, a gale blew in and by nightfall the Republic was stalled without power in a fierce hurricane. Passengers labored for hours to bail out the ship's hold, but it was a futile effort. Her crew worked feverishly to prepare the lifeboats and patch together makeshift rafts. At 4 p.m. on October 25, 1865, the Republic disappeared into the sea.

Published accounts of the survivors' harrowing tales were accompanied by newspaper reports that "some $400,000 in treasure" had gone down with the ship. For the next 138 years, the S.S. Republic and her fortune in gold and silver lay quietly in 1700 feet of water in the Atlantic Ocean in an unknown location off the Georgia coast.

Scientists Develop Shipwreck Search Techniques
In recent decades, many adventurers have searched for this lost treasure ship.  None were successful, until the Odyssey Marine Exploration Group of scientists and archaeologists developed new technology using computer-assisted search techniques and Remote Operated Vehicles to search for and map shipwreck locations, a technology built upon that used to locate the Titanic.

Finding the SS Republic was hard work.  It took time, courage, faith, millions of dollars, and 12 long, hard years before the S.S. Republic was located.  It was only late last year at the Odyssey Marine Exploration group finally located the 1865 SS Republic shipwreck last year some 100 miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia.

A History-Making Shipwreck Find
First finds that help confirm the identity of a shipwreck are typically large brass ship bells or large paddle wheels that are well preserved.  Note the beautiful green patina of ship's bell at left exactly as it was found under 1700 feet of sea water.

The  bell confirmed that the Odyssey Group had made what can only be described as the most historic, Civil War era archaeological find ever. The amazing S.S. Republic shipwreck site was also littered with historically significant artifacts from the Civil War Era– the paddle wheels, the original steam engine, empty bottles, bottles still filled with fruit, and slate tablets for schools.

Coins in a Rare Time Capsule
Most importantly, there were coins, genuine U.S. government issued silver and gold coins.  Some coins could be easily seen, other coins were hidden amid the ship’s debris field. 

A number of the coins were picked up individually by the underwater robots and brought to the surface.  Other coins were compacted into solid clumps and bought to the surface intact. These will, no doubt, be displayed in both permanent museums and in a specially designed traveling museum that will share the shipwreck's history across the country.

The group of Odyssey scientists have approached the shipwreck site as the true archaeological find that it is – a rare time capsule of the post Civil War era.  Every single item taken from the ocean floor has been carefully documented.  Every item will be examined by experts in that particular field.  Likewise, the time, date, and location of every coin has been recorded.

Expert Conservationists Preserved Each Coin
We were quite impressed when NCS, the Numismatic Conservation Services, a division of NGC, was contracted to handle the recovery and conservation of the shipwrecked coins recovered from the S.S. Republic.

Here we see numismatic experts carefully examining each coin to determine the best way to remove the encrustations, rust, or discolorations. 

The processes they've developed are carefully guarded secrets.  It is both a technical science and an art form to conserve shipwreck coins that have spent more than a century at the bottom of the ocean.

Austin Rare Coin Specialists Amazed
Before they arrived, we had heard how beautiful the coins looked.  But it wasn’t until the first allotment arrived at Austin Rare Coins that we were able to confirm the results for ourselves.

As we opened the first shipment, we stood in awe holding in our hands a coin minted long ago in the 1860’s.  It took only a moment for chill bumps to remind us that we were holding a unique piece of American history in our hands. 

This was a coin originally minted at the New Orleans Mint.  It had survived the Civil War because it was shipped to the North in the early years of fighting and stored in New York vaults.

When the war ended, this very coin was loaded aboard the steam paddle wheeler, the S.S. Republic.  Yes, this Silver Half Dollar was aboard when the ship ran into a hurricane some 100 miles off the coast of Georgia.  This coin sunk, along with the ship and its other cargo to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.  There, under 1700 feet of seawater, the coins lay in a deep, cold, watery grave for 138 years.

And this very coin was recovered from the seabed, brought to the surface and carefully conserved.  To me, this coin is nothing short of a modern day miracle.  We were so enthralled, that we carefully examined each and every coin.  Most have full details of the features of the Seated Liberty design on each coin.  On the reverse, the Eagles wings are wide spread and the fine details are so carefully preserved you can clearly see the feathers on the wings.

Own a Rare Historical Artifact
When we recommend these coins to you as collectibles, we are inviting you to be one of the proud Americans who will have the honor of possessing such an important piece of our country’s history.  Even the addition of just one of these coins in a “Shipwreck Effect” condition is sure to create substantial interest and appeal to any coin collection.

These shipwreck coins do not presume to be in mint condition or perfectly preserved.  That is exactly why these coins have been given the unique designation by NGC of “Shipwreck Effect” pedigree and no numeric grade.  That’s why these rare shipwreck treasures will now be offered by Austin Rare Coins for under $1,000 each– not the $10,000 to $50,000 price range so typical of gold coins from the only other two American shipwrecks found with coins.

A Very Special Conversation Piece
In our numismatic opinion, each of these Seated Liberty Half Dollars should be acquired primarily as a conversation piece that you can proudly show-off to your friends. Without a doubt, they will become a family heirloom worthy of handing down from generation to generation.

If you’ve always longed for something special to give to your children and grandchildren, so they can love and remember you, we highly recommend the S.S. Republic Shipwreck Coins.

For collectors, it is most significant that early allotments contain seldom seen Silver Half Dollars from the 1850s and 60s.  Rarely do we find such coins available to offer Seated Liberty examples to our Preferred Collectors. 

The First Shipwreck U.S. Silver Coins We’ve Ever Offered
That's why we were thrilled to find that the 1865 S.S. Republic shipwreck contained not just little silver dimes, but the beautiful and large "Seated Liberty" Halves.  They are well over a full inch in diameter with large and finely detailed designs on both sides.

While they last, Austin Rare Coins will distribute a limited allotment of these historic captivating coins only to the American public.  These are ideal for collectors, historians, Civil War buffs, and shipwreck enthusiasts and very affordable at under $1,000.

These coins were struck by the U.S. Mint branch office in New Orleans and containing the highly coveted "O" mint mark.  Dates to be released at this time range from the 1850’s, before the Civil War, up to 1861 when the mint in New Orleans was closed by mint officials.

NGC Encapsulated and Pedigreed Coins
The S.S. Republic shipwreck collection of Seated Liberty Half Dollars includes handpicked ungraded shipwreck coins that have been conserved and encased in a certified tamper-resistant holder by Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS) and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).

These SS Republic coins have the official Pedigree of "Shipwreck Effect" and are certified, numbered, and registered by NGC.   

A Unique Piece of American History
Silver is a very noble metal considered today to be a prized precious metal. In U.S. Mint coins of the 1850’s and 1860’s silver coins were minted of 90% silver along with 10% copper to reduce wear in circulation.

We find that the “Shipwreck Effect” Seated Liberty Half Dollars are very distinct. Unlike graded numismatic coins, an expert looking through a magnifying glass can tell that these coins have a story to share. Each Shipwreck coin has distinguishing features on the silver surface of the brilliant gray-white metal. 

The exact “Shipwreck Effect” left behind is an imprint that only time can impart on a coin that lay undisturbed, under 1700 feet of seawater, in the Atlantic Ocean, for over 138 years.  Despite their history, many coins exhibit nearly full details.

Austin Rare Coins is pleased to release a very limited allotment of genuine, S.S. Republic shipwreck coins to the American public while they last.  These Seated Liberty Half Dollars are pedigreed "Shipwreck Effect" coins, conserved by NCS and certified by NGC.

To forever protect your Seated Liberty Half Dollar from handling, each one is encapsulated in a protective NGC holder.

The Shipwreck Effect series has been specially packaged in an impressive hardwood display case, the finest we’ve ever seen offered to collectors.  This case bears an engraved SS Republic plate affixed to the cover. A vividly illustrated booklet describing the shipwreck's history; a DVD video of the National Geographic Ultimate Explorer one hour program and a Certificate of Authenticity will be included with each coin.
 
A Unique Collector Opportunity
So few U.S. silver coins have ever been recovered from a shipwrecks, that our firm has never sold even a single one.  Until now, we never imagined we could ever offer our Preferred Collectors a Civil War Era Silver Coins, from a major shipwreck, for under $1,000 each.

For coin collectors, the distinct opportunity to acquire a legendary piece of American history has arrived. Please visit the Austin Coin Collecting Society to place your reservations now.