Learn About The S S Republic With Us Gold Bureau Fans Today

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Investors who enjoy informational resources such as US Gold Bureau know that part of the fun of precious metals is learning about the roles they have played throughout history. The S S Republic happens to be a ship that was used by the Union navy during the Civil War in North America and in 1865 it carried a load of gold coins, along with many other goods, from New York to New Orleans. The ship, as many United States Gold Bureau fans can tell you, was a steam powered paddle driven boat popular at that time. After the Civil War, the fallen Confederate areas were so heavily devastated that the US had to spend a great deal of resources in order to rebuild them and that is what this ship's load was to help do.

What makes this story significant, especially to the history fans of US Gold Bureau and similar sites, is an event that took place on the 22nd of October, 1865: a huge hurricane. The stormy seas off the coast of Georgia were so intense that it took the S S Republic crew 3 full days of battling to try and save it, but it was just not possible. United States Gold Bureau readers know that on October 25th, those sailors ...
... abandoned the ship and took refuge on smaller boats, heading to the shore. It was a valiant struggle, but the ship sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, in the end, and it took its cargo of gold coins with it.

History buffs of U.S. Gold Bureau know that the ship sunk to well over 1,500 feet and remained there for nearly 140 years. They also know that one of the best traits about gold is that it does not corrode easily at all and, because of that, the coins held up even when other goods were thoroughly destroyed. The same group that discovered the Titanic, Odyssey Marine Expedition, spent 12 years trying to find the wreck and, at last, they did. As plenty of U.S. Gold Bureau investors know, it took a lot of hi tech video equipment to get a look at the wreckage, but once they did they found many fascinating artifacts.

Jars of fruit, still sealed, along with blackboards to be used in New Orleans schools were among the wreckage. So was a trove of gold and silver coins of an incredibly high value. There were over 1,400 $10 Eagle coins, more than 2,600 $20 Double Eagle coins and 47,000 half dollar coins made of silver. Though many of the coins were no longer in pristine condition, some of them did make their way to auction and can be found in collections today.

As you might imagine, the history of the S S Republic is only one story among many of marine shipwrecks containing valuable coins. People still search for the wrecks along the oceans' floors because they know discovering treasure could net them a very hefty profit.

Darwin Caine is a coin enthusiast & history blogger who adores sites like US Gold Bureau. When not reading about precious metals, he enjoys playing saxophone.