 1879 Flowing Hair. Choice Brilliant Proof. Gleaming deep-mirror fields accent the delicately frosted devices whose highest points are somewhat weakly struck as often seen with 19th century Philadelphia Mint Patterns. Fields bear a few scattered hairlines recalling non-numismatic ownership long ago. This obverse bears Charles E. Barber's Liberty with flowing hair cascading down into the field above the date. The legend provides abbreviated metallic proportions and weight separated by stars, 6 G(old), .3 S(ilver), .7 C(opper) 7 GRAMS. The coin's actual weight is indeed 7 grams. The reverse bears a huge 5-pointed star with incuse denomination ONE STELLA, 400 CENTS, with a distinctive Latin motto, DEO EST GLORIA, Glory is to God. The $4.00 Stella is actually a Pattern (Judd 1635) for a proposed international trade coin but has long been collected with regular U.S. Gold coinage. It was the idea of U.S. Minister to Austria John A. Kasson, former Congressman from Iowa and member of the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures. He admired Austria's Gold trade coin with dual denomination 8 Florins, 20 Francs. This circulated with the French 20 Francs and related coins of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU) in France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Greece. Kasson believed that a $4 coin would be virtually identical with the LMU 20 Francs and would speed commerce and ease travelers' foreign exchange problems. The idea never got beyond the Pattern stage, but few U.S. Gold coins have the magnetic appeal of the historic Stella for collectors.
Ex Christie's Auction, March 1990, lot 844.
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| Hammer Price: $120,000.00
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