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Sale 78
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Lot 1751
1879. Flowing Hair. PCGS graded Proof 62. Nicely toned and sharp for the grade. A popular $4 gold Stella. Only 425 pieces struck. A bright gleaming gold specimen with a light hint of golden tone in the fields. Delicate frosted motifs receive their support from the fine reflective fields, and account for the a slight contrast plus the select grade it deserves. The coin is a nicely struck one for the issue, with only a trace of soft detail in some of Liberty's hair curls. Faint mint-caused striations are found at the centers, as is always the case on Stellas; we are unaware of exceptions to this. Surfaces are virtually choice. Devices, the same. The grade summarizes the soul of this coin's position in the hierarchy of known examples. All in all, we are presenting to bidders a marvelous Proof 62 example of a rare and widely admired issue (PCGS # 8057) .
Historic note about the confusing Judd very scarce. Pollock numbering schemes: Judd called all 1879 Flowing Hair Stellas struck in gold "J-1635." Later research developed the theory that the gold Stellas were produced in two different finenesses, to which Pollock assigned different numbers. The first, P-1832, represents pieces struck in 85.71 fine gold, 4.29 fine silver, and 10.0 fine copper. It is believed that these were the first 15 struck. Later, after interested parties requested samples of the new Pattern design, some 400 or more additional pieces were made on .900 fine gold planchets, those being designated P-1833. Students of the series find it difficult to distinguish between them other than by means of expensive non-destructive testing; the weights do differ slightly for the two metallic alloys.
Research by ANR notes: "Conceived by John A. Kasson, United States minister to Austria in 1879, the $4 gold Stella was so-named for the star that dominates the reverse design (Latin: stella=star). Kasson also served as chair of the Committee of Coinage, Weights, and Measures earlier in his congressional career. He was a staunch advocate of the United States developing a denomination that would be valued and weighed metrically, as used in Europe, and would thus circulate at par with such well-used world gold issues as the Spanish 20 pesetas, Austrian eight florins, Italian 20 lire, Dutch eight florins, and the French 20 francs. The Committee of Coinage, Weights, and Measures considered Kasson's proposal, forwarding the suggestion that a name "suitable for the four-dollar coin would be "one stella" analogous to one eagle, both the star and the eagle being national emblems on our coins. Kasson's proposal did not break new ground, for earlier proposals had resulted in Paquet's pattern $5 pieces of 1868 and the later Bickford pattern issues of the 1870s. Foreign exchange rates of the time were seldom constant (some things never change), and even a denomination such as Kasson's proposed $4 coinage would never precisely fit the exchange rates of the day nor quite match the coins of Europe it sought to compete with—it would still be necessary to make exchange computations and give change using other smaller denominations. All that aside, Kasson's $4 denomination was still greeted with congressional enthusiasm. Congressman Alexander Stephens sought the production of the denomination in February 1879. Both Charles E. Barber and George T. Morgan were responsible for designs of the $4 gold piece. Those designed by Barber bore a portrait of Liberty with hair loose, today's "Flowing Hair" type, as offered here, while Morgan's design showed a more austere Liberty, hair tightly coiled and coiffed, today's "Coiled Hair" type.".
Estimated Value $120,000 - 130,000.
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| Realized $150,400 |
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