Extremely Rare 1879 Quintuple Gold Stella to be Offered at Auction!

Presents Continuous Pedigree from the U.S. Mint

DALLAS, TEXAS: Even the casual numismatist or collector is aware of the international experiment that is represented by the four dollar gold stella coinage. Although those pieces are patterns, they have been listed in the Guide Book since its first publication in 1946, and they are considered by some to be regular issue gold coins.

Not nearly so well known are the "quintuple stellas," the 20-dollar version of the same coinage issue. Just five of these pieces are known in gold, along with 10 to 12 examples struck in copper. Among the five examples in gold are this piece, and another that is permanently part of the Smithsonian Institution holdings.

According to Greg Rohan, President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "Dr. William Wheeler Hubbell - aka Wheeler William Hubbell, from whose collection the coin offered in our upcoming auction originally hails - was a citizen of Philadelphia with influence at the Mint. He had a keen interest in the various international coinage proposals of the time, and developed his 'goloid' composition for the silver dollars, which included a small amount of gold. His concept was a silver coin containing 90% precious metal and 10% copper."

"In New Orleans," Rohan said, "The Daily Picayune reported, 'At the Philadelphia Mint, production of nickel three-cent pieces, Shield nickels, 20-cent pieces, and trade dollars was limited to Proofs for collectors; no business strikes were made for circulation. Goloid, a 'dream metal' patented by Dr. William Wheeler Hubbell on May 22, 1877, was employed to strike numerous pattern dollars beginning in 1878. This alloy contained silver and gold metal in the value ratio of 16 to 1, alloyed with 10% copper by weight (to add strength). Goloid coins were to be struck with weights and proportions on the metric system, hence the term goloid metric dollar.' At about the same time, Hubbell applied for a patent 'for an improvement in metallic cartridges.'"

"The 1879 stella in our January auction is an extraordinary proof with brilliant yellow-gold color and orange tendencies," Rohan said. "Nearly every feature is sharply defined; only a few stars along the left obverse border are weak. A few tiny blemishes combine to positively identify the pedigree of this example: a tiny nick on Liberty's eye brow, a minute flake below the 3 in 30, a small planchet flake between G and star 3, a small mark below the upper serif of E in TWENTY, and a tiny blemish at the right curve of the final S in STATES."

"The importance of this opportunity cannot be overemphasized," Rohan said. "This is an extraordinary rare pattern issue, one of just four pieces available to collectors, and one of few patterns coins struck in gold. It has an amazing pedigree, continuous back to the day it was made, which is available in full in the coin's description on our website. This is an exciting coin, made even more desirable due to its incredible provenance."

Heritage Auction Galleries will present the 1879 $20 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella, Judd-1643, Pollock-1843, Low R.7, PR62 PCGS in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held January 3-6, 2007 as the official auctioneer of the Florida United Numismatists Convention, located at the Orange County Convention Center, Hall NB, North Concourse, 9400 Universal Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32819.

1879 $20 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella, Judd-1643, Pollock-1843, Low R.7, PR62 PCGS

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, www.HA.com.

To access the Heritage Press Release Archive, please visit www.HA.com/Coins.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.