Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
4 Dollars '1879 Stella' Pattern
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 6G.3S.7C 7 GRAMS LIBERTY 1879 |
| Reverse description | Central design features a large five-pointed star in relief occupying most of the field, with the inscriptions ONE STELLA and 400 CENTS arranged within the star's facets. The circular outer legend reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM to the upper left and DEO EST GLORIA to the right, separated by ornamental stops. The denomination FOUR DOL. appears at the base, flanked by small stars. A finely toothed outer border encircles the entire reverse design. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Stella was the brainchild of John A. Kasson, U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary, who argued that a $4 gold coin aligned with European metric gold standards would ease international trade — a proposal that gained enough traction in Congress to authorize pattern production but never enough to reach circulation. Charles Barber and George Morgan each submitted competing designs in 1879, accounting for the multiple Judd references at this denomination and year.
Fewer than 700 examples across all 1879 Stella varieties are believed to exist. Most reached the public through congressmen who acquired them directly from the Mint — a practice that was technically improper and quietly tolerated.