When the team of archaeologists, historians, technicians and researchers located the SS Republic, little did they expect that their discovery would reveal such a unique 19th-century time capsule and snapshot of the goods in demand just after the end of the American Civil War.

 

The shipwreck yielded an extraordinary cargo of 51,000 gold and silver coins, worth tens of millions of dollars, and over 14,000 artifacts - a stunning assortment of ceramic goods, religious items, and elegant glassware bound for New Orleans to help restock the merchants' shelves. Personal goods - such as leather shoes, lady's headbands and a variety of pharmaceutical concoctions were also found on the site.  

 

Exhibits and museums around the world feature many of the permanent collection of artifacts from the wreck while several items are still available for loan to public institutions, museums and for further study by qualified academics. The Virtual Museum tells the stories of these finds.

 

Some of the cargo and trade items are now available for collectors in the Shipwreck Store. 

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A series of six archaeological reports have been published on the shipwreck site and the cargo recovered.