A 1880 $4 Stella Flowing Hair gold coin will be auction in Bonhams, The Tacasyl Collection of Magnificent United States Proof Gold Coins Auction on 23 September 2013. The finest example of the rare 1880 Flowing Hair type certified by NGC Proof 67★, the only example to bear the star designation for eye appeal from two other examples as Proof 67 (cameo).
A spectacular, beautifully toned coin of medium red gold. This is an unusually well-struck example with the central strands of Liberty's hair well defined. Lightly mirrored fields with subdued, but frosted devices. The central striations seen on all examples are virtually invisible on this specimen. A small mint-caused 'comma' extending from the tail of the first 7 in the peripheral inscription (the Trompeter example has a similar feature), a thin reverse toning line from the right foot of the R of FOUR to the rim, and a tiny raised dot at the tail of the first S in the obverse inscription serve as an identifiers. A magnificent superb gem.
Obverse: Head of Liberty facing left, wearing diadem inscribed LIBERTY, hair flowing in long locks; around, ★6★G★.3★S★.7★C★7★G★R★A★M★S★; below, 1880.
Reverse: Large five-pointed star inscribed in incuse: ONE / STELLA / — / 400 / CENTS, in five lines; around outer rim: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — FOUR DOL.; around, within outer legend: E – PLURIBUS – UNUM — DEO – EST – GLORIA.
The rare 1880 $4 Stella Flowing Hair gold coin is estimated to sell for between US$ 550,000 - 750,000.
Note: When Mint engravers approached the design of the international coinage, they had any number of challenges to overcome. As noted above, the issues of alloy, weight, and how to express the intrinsic value of the coin internationally were all cleverly and quite simply dealt with. But, it should be remembered that the Stella was also meant to circulate in the United States (where an understanding of the metric standard was not then, and is still not, commonplace) and it also had to meet certain legal requirements regarding various portions of its design; so, the obverse bore a head (and inscription) emblematic of Liberty, while the reverse bore the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM. The use of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was optional at this time, and was replaced by the DEO EST GLORIA (the Glory is God's). The denomination was expressed in three different ways: 400 Cents, Four Dol., and finally One Stella (within the star for which the denomination was named). Despite the number of competing design elements, the Stellas are well-conceived, uncluttered and, like so many unadopted patterns, in many ways artistically superior to the designs ultimately accepted for circulation.
As also noted above, Congressional interest in the proposed international coinage caused that body to order more examples for the membership; according to Breen (Encyclopedia) many of the 1879 dated issues were in fact struck in 1880 (in January, April, and May). However, the concept of the international coinage was scuttled by legislators when no difference in the alloys could be readily distinguished (the standard circulating U.S. coins were .900 pure, and the Stellas .857 pure). Nevertheless, the concept of a Four Dollar gold piece did greatly appeal to numismatists as an oddity and the two issues of 1880 are widely accepted as having been produced for well-placed collectors of pattern coinage.
The Tacasyl Collection of Magnificent United States Gold Proof Coins will be offered on September 23 as part of the Coins and Medals auction at Bonhams Los Angeles. The auction will preview at the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in Rosemont, IL, August 13-17 and Bonhams Los Angeles, September 20-23. A 1880 $4 Stella Coiled Hair Cameo gold coin also offered in this auction with estimated price between $1,000,000-1,500,000.
