J-1658 1880 $4 PCGS Genuine. Copper Gilt R-7. Certified by PCGS in one of the older genuine holders, this is an extremely rare pattern Stella. We are unsure why it was not graded, as we don’t seen any problems besides being copper gilt, which is very common with these coins. Lustrous orange-yellow gilt surfaces, this is a wonderful coin that is actually much rarer than the gold Stella’s listed in the Red book. However, as these copper, and the aluminum pieces as well are not listed there, they are also much more affordable.
Affordable, however, doesn’t mean available or offered with regularity. Approximately 12-15 pieces are known in all grades, with the majority in gilt such as the present piece. Non-gilt copper pieces are even rarer, coming up for auction with long intervals. Most pieces are impounded in specialized collections, and the 1880 Stella’s are much rarer than the 1879 pieces of the same denomination, in whatever metal.
The $4 gold pieces of 1879 in particular, as the 1880 pieces were mainly created for numismatists of the day, were another attempt to standardize world coinage. Unlike these days, most people that carried did not have the opportunity to exchange their currency before travelling before hand. As such, when they reached their destination they tried to spend their gold and silver coins, which was often possible. However, to do so, it required a lot of calculation to come up with the correct exchange rate. By introducing standard gold and silver coins of a standard value of gold, and not specifically a denomination, there would be no problems and the value in currency could soon be calculated with this information.
The idea proved to be impossible to materialize, given the large distances and communicating problems among the different countries. However, because of these experiments, we now have a wide spectrum of patterns that form a wonderful, but often rare display of proposed coinage. The 1879 gold Stella’s, of both the Flowing hair (by Barber) and Coiled hair (by Morgan) are the most available, and all other issues become extremely rare such as this 1880 flowing hair issue.
This is a wonderfully looking coin with light color, and some darker patches. The coin is an unquestionable Proof striking, strongly struck with mirrored surfaces visible under the toning. All detail is very prominent, making this a perfect coin for the collector who is seeking an United States coin of the $4 denomination, but doesn’t want to spend the amount that the gold pieces sell for.
