| The SS Republic was lost in a hurricane of the coast of Georgia in October 1865 while on its way to New Orleans. The ship was carrying much needed supplies and coinage to New Orleans which was recovering from the Civil War. The wreck of the SS Republic was not discovered until 2003 when Odyssey Marine found the ship and began the recovery of its hoard of coinage. The coins that were recovered from the wreck of the SS Republic were expertly conserved and certified by NGC.
From the NGC website, when the saltwater damage to a coin is so heavy that there is so much metal loss that assigning an accurate grade of the coin’s actual wear prior to saltwater exposure is no longer possible, the coin is given a designation of SHIPWRECK EFFECT with no grade. For coins with only a moderate disturbance to its surface from exposure to saltwater and where a details grade can still be accurately assigned, a designation of SHIPWRECK EFFECT (C) is given along with an estimated grade. If the coin has only light surface disturbance from immersion in saltwater that does not affect the central design elements of the coin, a designation of SHIPWRECK EFFECT (B) can be given along with an estimated grade. Only the very best coins collect from a shipwreck which exhibit minimal surface disturbance from saltwater exposure, and which exhibit superior eye appeal, can be awarded the SHIPWRECK EFFECT (A) designation by NGC along with an estimated grade.
This listing is for the SS Republic Civil War Blue and Gray set which includes two coins, one minted under the authority of the United States government and the other minted under the authority of the Confederate States of America. The first coin is an 1861 Seated Liberty Half Dollar which as been certified by NGC as SHIPWRECK EFFECT (B) with UNC details. The coins also certified by NGC as being a United States Issue coin as it was struck in Philadelphia. Although the coin exhibits very light saltwater damage on the surfaces, mostly near the rims, the damage is minor and the uncirculated details of the coin are very strong. The coin is bright white and untoned with lustrous and slightly prooflike surfaces. The second coin is an 1861-O Seated Liberty Half Dollar which as been certified by NGC as SHIPWRECK EFFECT (A) with UNC details. The coins also certified by NGC as being a Confederate States Issue coin, meaning that the coin was struck by the New Orleans Mint after Louisiana’s secession from the United States and joining the Confederacy. The coin shows minimal saltwater damage on the surfaces and has extraordinary overall eye appeal. The coin is bright white and still has nice original mint luster and strong uncirculated details. The set of two coins comes with a wooden display box, certificate of authenticity and a DVD movie about the SS Republic and salvage operation by Odyssey Marine. You may see other sets of this “Blue and Gray” set available for less, but the coins offered in this set are very high end being SHIPWRECK EFFECT (B) and (A) coins with uncirculated details and is by far the nicest set I have owned. An awesome set of Seated Liberty Half Dollars minted under the authority of each side of the Civil War and ultimately recovered from the SS Republic shipwreck.
Because of the difficulty in capturing the overall look of the coins in a single image, I have also included a short high-definition video of the coins in an attempt to give you a better idea of what these coins will look like in hand. Please note that you may need to adjust the video quality to 1080p and may need to increase the size of the video to full screen in order to see the coins with maximum detail.
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