Among the bottles, trunks and other artifacts recovered from the SS Republic shipwreck, Odyssey Marine discovered a fortune of Liberty Seated half dollars intended to help New Orleans and the Southern economy rebuild from their losses. What's remarkable is that this spectacular cache included coins minted by both the North and South during 1861, the year the Civil War began!

As armies clashed on the battlefield, hulking steam-powered coin presses in both Philadelphia and New Orleans thundered away, spewing out virtually identical silver coins. The Philadelphia-minted 1861 and New Orleans-minted 1861-O Liberty Seated half dollars presented in the SS Republic Civil War "Blue & Gray" Set define the tragic nature of the Civil War -- a war fought not only by "two sides of the same coin", but by two sides minting the same coins!

The NGC certified half dollars arrive in a hardwood display box with a certificate of authenticity, history brochure and the National Geographic documentary DVD, Civil War Gold.