4 Dollars '1879 Stella' Pattern

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.