1879 $4 Coiled Hair, Judd-1638, Pollock-1838, JD-1, R.6, PR65 PCGS. CAC....

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1879 Coiled Hair Stella, PR65 CAC
Classic Gold Rarity, Judd-1638
Thirteen Examples Traced
Ex: Amon Carter

1879 $4 Coiled Hair, Judd-1638, Pollock-1838, JD-1, R.6, PR65 PCGS. CAC. The legendary 1879 Coiled Hair stella is unquestionably one of the premier rarities in American numismatics. Examples seldom appear at auction, and when they do they generate a significant amount of interest. The coins have the ability to transcend numismatic specialization and appeal to a variety of pattern specialists, gold collectors, and advanced regular-issue enthusiasts alike -- entirely understandable given their absolute rarity and fascinating history.

International Economics in 1879 and the Stella
An appreciation of the political and economic climate of the 1870s is helpful to understanding the reasons behind the creation of the four dollar gold denomination. The 1870s saw an immense increase in silver output in the United States, most notably in Nevada, where the Comstock mines such as Ophir and Consolidated Virginia produced hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of silver ore. This, in tandem with Germany transitioning to a gold standard and dumping roughly 8,000 tons of silver onto an already saturated market, resulted in a substantial decrease in the price of silver relative to gold. The powerful silver mining interests in this country were understandably displeased, but scored a major success when Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, mandating the federal government purchase between $2 million and $4 million of domestic silver monthly in an effort to artificially inflate the metal's market value. The Congressional allies of silver mine owners further proposed a series of bills to establish a coin for international trade in an effort to expand worldwide demand for American silver.
The stella was a proposed four-dollar gold coin intended to serve as an international monetary unit, much like the present day euro. John A. Kasson suggested the idea for a coin that would be equivalent to the French 20 franc piece and the Austrian 8 florin coin in a letter to the State Department on January 3, 1879. The letter was passed to the Treasury Department and then to Alexander Stephens, head of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. Stephens was closely associated with Dr. William Wheeler Hubbell, who had patented his famous "Goloid" composition, an alloy of silver, gold, and copper, and advocated its use for international coinage. Roger W. Burdette suggests the real impetus for the stellas came from Hubbell, rather than Kasson. Patterns were struck for the proposed coinage in 1879 and 1880, using both the Flowing Hair and Coiled Hair designs. Unfortunately, the four dollar stella was not an exact match in value for its intended European equivalents (the 20 franc piece worth $3.88) and the idea was eventually deemed impractical.

Design
Obverse: Head of Liberty with braided hair, coiled on top, with a headband inscribed LIBERTY. Legend ★ 6★ G★ .3★ S★ .7★ C★ 7★ G★ R★ A★ M★ S★ around, date 1879 below. Reverse: A large five-pointed star with the incuse inscription ONE STELLA/400 CENTS in the center, E PLURIBUS UNUM. DEO EST GLORIA around, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/FOUR DOL. at the borders.

Many numismatists believe the Coiled Hair obverse design was engraved by then-Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan, because of its similarity to the portraits on his Goloid and Metric silver dollars. Recent research by Roger Burdette suggests Chief Engraver Charles Barber may have adapted Morgan's design for use on the stella (see the Journal of Numismatic Research, Spring 2015 edition). The reverse design is generally attributed to Barber. The Coiled Hair design was also struck in copper (Judd-1639), aluminum (Judd-1640), and white metal (Judd-1641).

The Coiled Hair Stellas
The Coiled Hair design was struck in extremely limited quantities for sale to collectors in 1879 and 1880. The Coiled Hair stellas were offered as part of three-coin Goloid sets, together with a Goloid dollar pattern (Judd-1631) and a Metric dollar pattern (Judd-1622). Old auction citations say only 10 examples were struck, but a few more examples are known today; so, either the initial mintage was larger than reported or a small number of restrikes was produced later. The stellas were ostensibly struck on planchets made of the patented Goloid composition, but many numismatists believe they were actually struck on shaved-down half eagle blanks, because all examples seen show parallel die striations. Alternatively, recent research indicates the planchet stock was rolled in such a way that these striations were produced.

Auction History
An example of the 1879 Coiled Hair stella first appeared at auction surprisingly early, as part of a Goloid set offered in lot 631 of the J. Colvin Randall Collection (George Cogan, 3/1882). Cogan first described the Goloid and Metric dollars, then the stella was described as follows:

"Gold Stella (No. 4 piece). Hair braided and done up in a coil, head of Liberty surrounded by *6*G*.3.*S*.7*C*&*G*R*A*M*S* Rev. A star inscribed 'One Stella, 400 Cents." Brilliant proof. This set has never been offered before at either public or private sale. Excessively rare.
Note - This set must not be taken for the ordinary 'Goloid Set' as the obverse is nothing like it. In this set hair of Liberty is arranged in coils, while in the other it falls down the neck in curls, and the face is totally different."

Cogan had offered an 1878 Goloid dollar in the previous lot, explaining his identification of the stella as the "No. 4 piece." The first auction appearance of the present coin that we can trace with certainty was lot 243 of the Jerome Kern/Golden Jubilee Sale (B. Max Mehl, 5/1950). The coin was offered as part of a four-piece set of stellas, with the coins in successive individual lots, but a provision was made to sell all four coins as a set if a high enough bid was received. Mehl stated:

"1879 $4.00 Gold. Head of Liberty with coiled hair, the hair-do prevalent in 1879. The reverse the same as that of the first type. Perfect brilliant proof. According to the mint report, only about 12 specimens were minted. A smaller number is known to exist today. Specimens of this rarity and the two following have been offered in recent years, but invariably they are the same specimen being re-offered. Record near the $1,000.00 mark. Another coin destined to become one of our real great rarities."

The lot was purchased by prominent Fort Worth collector Amon G. Carter, Sr. and it remained in the Carter Family Collection for 34 years. All four stellas in the set were purchased at this sale, so Carter either placed the highest bid on all four individual lots or he made a prohibitive bid on the four coins as a set. This coin was offered one more time, in lot 5299 of the Central States/New Orleans Collection Signature (Heritage, 4/2015), where it realized a strong price of $881,250. The record price realized for an 1879 Coiled Hair stella is the $1,050,000 brought by the PR66 Cameo PCGS coin in another Heritage auction in 2019.

Physical Description
The present coin is a delightful Gem with sharply detailed devices and well-preserved yellow and orange-gold surfaces that show a few highlights of red. The design elements are frosty and the fields are deeply reflective, under the patina. The parallel striations seen on all stellas are present here, but are much fainter than usual. A curving lint mark near M in UNUM serves as a pedigree marker. Overall eye appeal is tremendous and the high quality within the grade is confirmed by CAC. Housed in a Generation 3.1 green label holder. The 1879 Coiled Hair stella is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Population: 3 in 65, 3 finer. CAC: 1 in 65, 0 finer (5/25).

Roster of 1879 Coiled Hair Stellas, Judd-1638
This roster was expanded from earlier work by Ron Guth and the Numismatic Detective Agency. Grades are per the last auction appearance, unless a subsequent certification event is known.
1. PR67 Cameo NGC. Western Collection of United States Gold Coins (Stack's, 12/1981), lot 1137, $80,000; Gold Rush Collection (Heritage, 1/2005), lot 30041, $655,500; Tacasyl Collection (Bonhams, 9/2013), lot 1009, $1,041,300.
2. PR66+ Cameo PCGS. Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Bowers and Ruddy, 10/1982), lot 317, $101,750; Dr. Jerry Buss Collection (Superior, 1/1985), lot 1766, $104,500; G. Lee Kuntz Collection (Superior, 10/1991), lot 3389, not sold.
3. PR66+ Cameo PCGS. Will W. Neil Collection (B. Max Mehl (sold as part of a complete set of Stellas), 6/1947), lot 2603; Grant Pierce Collection / 1976 ANA (Stack's (sold as part of a complete set of Stellas), 8/1976), lot 2920; May Auction (Superior, 5/1991), lot 1374, not sold; Bob R. Simpson Collection.
4. PR66 Cameo PCGS. A Small Collection of Coins and Medals (Bangs & Co., cataloged by H.P. Smith, 1/1882), lot 655, $6; T. Harrison Garrett Collection - Robert Garrett Collection; John Work Garrett Collection / Johns Hopkins University Collection, Part I (Bowers and Ruddy, 11/1979), lot 431, $115,000; Auction '80 (Superior, 8/1980), lot 385, $175,000; Buddy Ebsen Collection (Superior, 5/1987), lot 2444; Holecek Family Trust (Stack's, 10/2000), lot 1623, $310,500; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2014), lot 5405, $851,875; David Lawrence, reportedly sold for "just over $1,000,000" in 12/2017 (see E-Sylum v20n52, 12/17/2017); D.L. Hansen Collection.
5. PR66 Cameo NGC. Auction 43-44 (Numismatic Gallery (Abe Kosoff & Abner Kreisberg), 3/1948), lot 280; Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 7/1997), lot 359, $231,000; Spectrum Numismatics, sold privately; HBC Collection (Heritage, 1/2019), lot 4651, $1,050,000.
6. PR66 Uncertified (per Jeff Garrett). Josiah K. Lilly Collection, donated intact by Lilly's estate in 1968 to the National Numismatic Collection in exchange for a $5.5 million tax credit; National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution (accession #283645, Id Number NU.68.159.0149).
7. PR65 Cameo PCGS. Rio Rancho Estate (Superior, 10/1974), lot 133, $105,000; Lighthouse Collection (Stack's, 6/1978), lot 828, $90,000; Ed Trompeter Collection, Part I (Superior, 2/1992), lot 134, $198,000; Orlando Sale (Superior, 8/1992), lot 598, not sold; Seymour Finkelstein Collection (Stack's, 10/1995), lot 1547, $222,000.
8. PR65 PCGS CAC. Jerome David Kern Collection/Golden Jubilee Sale (B. Max Mehl (as part of a set), 5/1950), lot 243; Amon G. Carter, Jr. Family Collection (Stack's, 1/1984), lot 632, $88,000; New Orleans Collection (Heritage, 4/2015), lot 5299, $881,250. The present coin.
9. Gem Brilliant Proof Uncertified. Dallas Bank (H. Jeff Browning) Collection (Sotheby's/Stack's, 10/2001), lot 361, $345,000. According to Saul Teichman, this coin was earlier from the Dr. John E. Wilkison Collection.
10. PR64 Cameo PCGS. New Orleans ANA (Stack's Bowers, 5/2013), lot 1294, $646,250; Pre-Long Beach Auction (Goldberg Auctions, 6/2019), lot 1171, not sold.
11. PR63 NGC. Armand Champa Collection (Bowers and Ruddy, 5/1972), lot 521, $29,000; S. Hallock duPont Collection (Sotheby's, 9/1982), lot 250, $61,600; Coles Collection (Stack's, 10/1983), lot 57, $74,800; Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 8/1995), lot 307, $137,500; Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 9/1998), lot 7105, $161,000; Gold Rush Collection (Heritage, 1/2005), lot 30040, $287,500; Freedom Collection (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 3488, $316,250; Pre-Long Beach (Goldberg Auctions, 5/2007), lot 1551, $414,000; Pre-Long Beach (Goldberg Auctions, 2/2009), lot 1433, $304,750; Poulos Family Collection (Heritage, 8/2019), lot 3861, $336,000.
12. PR62 PCGS. Stack's Summer 1997 Fixed Price List, as part of a set offered at $875,000; Americana Sale (Stack's (as part of a complete set of Stellas), 1/1998), lot 1498, not sold; Richmond Collection [Bradley Hirst], Part I (David Lawrence, 7/2004), lot 1304, $299,000; Denver Platinum (Heritage, 8/2006), lot 5468, $402,500; Bruce Sherman Collection, Part II (Heritage, 4/2025), lot 3091, $576,000.
13. PR62 NGC. Gaston DiBello Collection, Part II (Stack's, 5/1970), lot 796, $22,000; Globus and Corson Collections (Stack's, 3/1999), lot 134, $138,000; Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 1/2000), lot 350, $126,500; Genaitis Collection (Heritage, 8/2001), lot 7750, $132,250.

Additional Appearances
A. Brilliant Proof. John Colvin Randall Collection (George Cogan, 3/1882), lot 631, part of a Goloid set.
B. Proof. George Woodside Collection (New York Coin & Stamp, 4/1892), lot 346.
C. Proof. Harlan Page Smith Collection (S.H. & H. Chapman, 5/1906), lot 1445.
D. Proof. A coin sold to DeWitt Smith by H.P. Smith, mentioned by Henry Chapman in his Smith Collection catalog in C above. Sold to Virgil Brand in 1908, Brand Journal number 46963.
E. Proof. Edgar Adams in 1911; sold to Virgil Brand, Brand Journal number 57093.
F. Proof. F.C.C. Boyd in 1921; sold to Virgil Brand, Brand Journal number 105729.
G. Proof. John Story Jenks Collection (Henry Chapman, 12/1921), lot 5682.
H. Brilliant Proof. William Forrester Dunham Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1941), lot 2063.
I. Brilliant Proof. Albert H. Grinnell Collection (Mehl, 6/1943), lot 185; Fred E. Olsen Collection (Mehl, 11/1944), lot 614. Part of a four-piece set of stellas.
J. Brilliant Proof. Pennsylvania Sale (Hollinbeck, 2/1947), lot 2533.
K. Brilliant Gem Proof. J.W. Schmandt Collection (Stack's, 2/1957), lot 219.
L. Proof. Public Auction Sale (Kreisberg-Schulman, 2/1961), lot 1150, part of a set of stellas.
M. Brilliant Gem Proof. Golden Sale, Part II (Kreisberg-Schulman, 1/1963), lot 1938, part of a set of stellas.
N. Gem Proof. Public Coin Auction (Quality Sales, 9/1973), lot 1154.(Registry values: P3)
From The Costa Family Collection, Part I.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 28B2, PCGS# 8058, Greysheet# 8780)

Weight: 7.00 grams

Metal: 86% Gold, 4% Silver, 10% Copper

View all of [The Costa Family Collection, Part I ]

View Certification Details from PCGS