4070

1865 $20 MS65 NGC. As of December 2004 Odyssey Marine

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:42,500.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1865 $20 MS65 NGC. As of December 2004 Odyssey Marine
<B>1865<$20> MS65 NGC.</B></I> Ex: <I>S.S. Republic.</B></I> As of December 2004 Odyssey Marine Exploration, the deep-sea-recovery company that discovered the watery remains of the <I>S.S. Republic,</B></I> had recovered more than 51,000 gold and silver coins from the shipwrecked steam sidewheeler. That quantity represents about one-quarter of the $400,000 in face value that the ship carried as cargo. In addition to a surprisingly large number of Seated Liberty half dollars, the hoard contained Liberty head eagles dating from as far back as 1838 through 1865. Liberty Head double eagles recovered from the shipwreck included the first regular issue, 1850, plus examples dating from every year between 1851 and 1865, including O- and S-mintmarked pieces for many of those years. The <I>S.S. Brother Jonathan</B></I> is another recovered shipwreck that yielded numerous double eagles.<BR> Beyond their high quality and historical importance, the 1865 double eagles are, of course, the last of the P-mint Type I twenties, those lacking IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. (The 1866-S No Motto double eagles are an anachronism, made from leftover dies of the year before in San Francisco.) The present coin is remarkable as one of the finest examples of this issue, save for a single higher-graded MS66 specimen at NGC. As of this writing, NGC has certified 21 Gem examples of the 1865 <I>S.S. Republic</B></I> double eagles. (None of the issue have been certified from the <I>Brother Jonathan.)</B></I> Even though this piece was minted in 1865 and then quite literally "went down with the ship," its surfaces are nonetheless remarkable for their pristine, unmarked quality. Those who have been in the numismatic trade for many years are accustomed to seeing the heavy abrasions, bag marks, reeding marks, and surface insults of all kinds that normally plague these heavy gold coins, yet on this piece, they are almost entirely absent. A sin