Striking quality varies widely for the 1865-S double eagle, although most examples are softly struck on the obverse over the hair curls along Liberty's brow and the high points of the coronet. Shipwreck-recovered examples, however, tend to be sharper on the obverse, while the reverse of both shipwreck and non-shipwreck coins is typically well struck. High grade 1865-S double eagles have good luster, typically frosty or satiny in texture, although a few of the shipwreck examples are subdued from years of immersion in sea water. Apart from a few exceptional shipwreck examples, the typical 1865-S is noticeably abraded, often with deep marks and other sizeable distractions on one or both sides. In circulated grades such as VF and EF the 1865-S is relatively easy to obtain, and such examples have tremendous historic appeal due to their association with the waning days of the California Gold Rush. As one of the three major treasure ship issues in the Type 1 Liberty Head double eagle series, the 1865-S is also relatively obtainable in Uncirculated grades. More than 600 Mint State examples were salvaged from the shipwreck of the S.S. Brother Jonathan, the coins lost at sea on July 30, 1865 when the side-wheel steamer foundered on an uncharted rock while trying to reach the safety of Crescent City, California. The finest of these shipwreck 1865-S double eagles is a pair of MS-66s certified by PCGS.

We wrote the following in our June 2021 Auction Catalog, saying: "On Sunday, July 30, 1865, the S.S. Brother Jonathan ran into an uncharted rock during a gale and sank off the coast near Crescent City, California, taking with it 219 people and a substantial golden treasure. In the 1990s, Deep Sea Research, Inc. located the wreck and in a series of exploration dives salvaged 1,207 coins, most of which were 1865-S double eagles. Prior to the discovery, Mint State survivors of this issue were extremely rare. More than 600 of the coins from the S.S. Brother Jonathan treasure are Uncirculated, however, realigning the 1865-S as one of the more available Type I Liberty Head double eagles in Mint State. Since these coins were fist sold at auction in 1999, they have been popular with high grade gold type collectors and double eagle enthusiasts, as well as with collectors of shipwreck treasure."

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in June 2021 Auction, where it realized $31,200.