Famous 1879 Flowing Hair Stella

Rare Judd-1636 Variety Struck in Copper, Then Gilt

1879 Four-Dollar Gold Stella. Flowing Hair. Judd-1636, Pollock-1834. Rarity-7-. Copper, Gilt. Reeded Edge. Proof. Unc Details--Surfaces Plated (PCGS).

Obv: The Flowing Hair design by Charles E. Barber. Head of Liberty with flowing hair faces left with the date 1879 below. Liberty is wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, and the inscription * 6 * G * .3 * S * .7 * C * 7 * G * R * A * M * S * encircles the border. Rev: Five-pointed star, or Stella, is inscribed with the denominations ONE STELLA and 400 CENTS. The Latin mottoes E PLURIBUS UNUM and DEO EST GLORIA are above and below the star, respectively. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is inscribed along the upper border, and another expression of the denomination FOUR DOL. is inscribed along the lower border. This is a fully struck specimen with razor sharp detail to even the most intricate design elements. The gilding has been fairly evenly applied, both sides awash in warm deep gold patina with tinges of pale rose evident under a light. There are no marks or other blemishes and the eye appeal strong. The story of the four-dollar gold Stellas of 1879 and 1880 begins with the desire in certain government circles to create an international coinage system that would be readily recognized and accepted throughout the world. Although it had surfaced earlier, this idea gained its greatest momentum in 1879 through the efforts of John A. Kasson, the United States' minister plenipotentiary to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a former chairman of the Congressional Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures. Kasson urged the federal government to consider creation of a four-dollar gold coin as the basis for a new international monetary system. In Kasson's opinion, a four-dollar gold coin struck in the United States Mint would more closely approximate in value the more widely used and accepted gold coins of several European countries, including Austria's 8 florins, the Dutch 8 florins, France's 20 francs, Italy's 20 lire and Spain's 20 pesetas. Throwing his weight behind Kasson's proposal, serving chairman of the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures, Alexander H. Stephens, wrote to Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman requesting that the Mint prepare pattern four-dollar gold pieces for evaluation by Congress. The Mint eventually prepared two different proposed designs, a flowing hair motif by Charles E. Barber and a coiled hair design by George T. Morgan. The Barber Flowing Hair type was used to prepare only 25 (and possibly as few as 15) examples for distribution to Congressional leaders. Those coins are dated 1879 and, per traditional numismatic wisdom, were struck in a metric alloy of 85.71% gold, 4.29% silver and 10.00% copper. Demand among Congressional and other government officials for examples of the proposed four-dollar gold Stella proved so great, however, that the Mint eventually prepared perhaps as many as 700 additional specimens in early 1880, still using the 1879-dated Flowing Hair dies. These pieces are struck in standard alloy of 90.00% gold, 10.00% copper on shaved half eagle planchets (per the website us.patterns.com ) and, as with their predecessors produced in 1879, were used for presentation and other official purposes as well as for numismatists. Despite its popularity with Congressional leaders and other contemporary politicians, in the end the four-dollar gold Stella failed to gain authorization for regular issue production and the project ended. In addition to the gold specimens on shaved half eagle planchets -- which are the typical Stellas selected for inclusion in advanced type sets -- small numbers of off metal strikings of the 1879 Flowing Hair are known in copper, aluminum and white metal. Of these the copper impressions are seen most often, although they are still elusive with an estimated population of not many more than a dozen specimens (again, per the website uspatterns.com ). Many have been gilt, as here, obviously to simulate their more widely known, although far less rare, gold counterparts. Given this fact, we find it curious that PCGS has certified the present example in a "Details" holder due to the gilding. It may have been done outside the Mint, and was not part of the intended production process for these specimens, hence PCGS's holdering of this coin is technically correct. On the other hand, these pieces were gilt a long time ago, for numismatic purposes, and are well known as such, so a strong argument could be made for a "straight grade." Regardless, these copper strikings are far rarer than their Judd-1635 counterparts in gold, and they are also more fully defined and missing the central striations seen on pieces struck on shaved half eagle planchets. Here is a rare and exciting bidding opportunity for advanced numismatists.

PCGS# 82015.