Stella (United States coin)

Stella


Value:	4.00 U.S. dollars
Mass:	7.00g
Diameter:	22.0 mm
Thickness:	1.52 mm
Edge:	reeded
Composition:	6.00g Au, 0.30g Ag, 0.70g Cu
Obverse

Design:	Liberty bust
Designers:	Charles E. Barber (flowing hair obv) George T. Morgan (coiled hair obv)
Design Date:	1879
Reverse

Design:	five-pointed star
Designer:	Charles E. Barber
Design Date:	1879

The United States four dollar coin, also officially called a Stella, is a unit of currency equivalent to four United States dollars.

It was originally minted as a universal coin exchangeable with any currency around the world. Two varieties of the Stella were made: flowing hair, designed by Charles E. Barber, and coiled hair, designed by George T. Morgan. The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety. Even though the coin was designed as a pattern coin, similar to the Gobrecht dollar, many catalogs list the coin as a regular-issue item.

History

The Stella was a pattern coin produced to explore the possibility of joining the Latin Monetary Union (LMU); these patterns were produced in 1879 and 1880 at the urging of John A. Kasson, a former chairman of the United States House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. The Stella was meant to contain a quantity of precious metal similar to that of the standard LMU gold piece, the twenty-franc Napoleon minted in France, Switzerland, and other LMU countries. However, the composition and weight of the Stella was not a precise match to the LMU standard: the total weight was 7 grams (rather than 6.45 grams), the gold content was 6 grams of fine gold (rather than 5.81 grams), and the coins were only .857 fine (rather than .900).

Two different designs obverse were produced: one with flowing hair; in the other the hair is coiled. Both bear the same inscription "★6★G★.3★S★.7★C★7★G★R★A★M★S★" (the five-pointed glyph variant of the "★" is used) to indicate the metallic content of the coin, and the date. The reverse star had the inscriptions ONE STELLA and 400 CENTS, while the reverse rim had the legends UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FOUR DOL., and circling the star but between its points were the legends E PLURIBUS UNUM ("Out of many, one") and DEO EST GLORIA ("To God is the glory").

The coin and the prospect of joining the Latin Monetary Union were rejected by Congress, but not before several hundred restrikes of the Barber flowing hair design had been produced and sold to Congressmen at the cost of production. These later became a source of scandal when it was noted that a number of them ended up as jewelry pieces adorning the necks of madams operating some of Washington's most infamous bordellos.

1879 Quintuple Stella Pattern

Five examples of a pattern quintuple stella denominated at 20 dollars were produced in 1879 as well. These coins used a modified version of the then current Liberty Head (Coronet) design of the double eagle, replacing the stars on the obverse with "★30★G★1.5★S★3.5★C★35★G★R★A★M★S★", and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse with the same DEO EST GLORIA found on the reverse of the stella.

Only 425 examples of the Stella were made. All 1880 coins are rare; 16 or 17 examples are known.

External links

Monaco Rare Coins
www.unionlatine.com Pictures and mintage figures of the stella and the quintuple stella.
Stella Pattern images and historical information.

Obsolete United States currency and coinage

Topics

Coins

Half cent (1793–1857)
Fugio Cent (1787)
Two-cent piece (1836; 1864–73)
Three-cent nickel (1865–89)
Three-cent silver (1851–73)
Half dime (1792–1873)
Twenty-cent piece (1875–78)

Gold coins	Gold dollar (1849–89) Quarter eagle (1796–1929) Three-dollar piece (1854–89) Stella (1879–80) Half eagle (1795–1929) Eagle (1795–1933) Double eagle (1850–1933, 2009)

Patterns	Three-cent bronze (1863) Half-union (1877)

Currency

Discontinued denominations	Fractional currency Large denominations of currency

Discontinued currency types	Early American currency Compound interest treasury note Demand Note Federal Reserve Bank Note Gold certificate Interest bearing note National Bank Note National gold bank note Refunding Certificate Silver certificate Treasury or Coin Note Treasury Note (19th century) United States Note United States postal notes

Coinage of the United States

Cent (1¢)

Fugio Cent (1787)
Chain (1793)
Wreath (1793)
Liberty Cap (1793–96)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Classic Head (1808–14)
Matron Head (1816–39)
Large cent (Braided Hair) (1835–57; 1868)
Flying Eagle cent (1856–58)
Indian Head (1859–1909)
Lincoln cent (1909–present)
1943 steel cent
1955 doubled die cent
1974 aluminum cent

Nickel (5¢) (Half dime)

Flowing Hair (1794–95)
Draped Bust (1796–97, 1800–05)
Capped Bust (1829–37)
Seated Liberty (1837–73)
Shield (1866–83)
Liberty Head (1883–1913)
Buffalo (1913–38)
Jefferson (1938–present)

Dime (10¢)

Disme (1792)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1809–37)
Seated Liberty (1837–91)
Barber (1892–1916)
Mercury (1916–45)
Roosevelt (1946–present)

Quarter dollar (25¢)

Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1815–39)
Seated Liberty (1839–91)
Barber (1892–1916)
Standing Liberty (1916–30)
Washington (1932–1998)
50 State Quarters (1999–2008)
District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters (2009)
America the Beautiful Quarters (2010–present)

Half dollar (50¢)

Flowing Hair (1794–95)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1807–39)
Seated Liberty (1839–91)
Barber (1892–1915)
Walking Liberty (1916–47)
Franklin (1948–63)
Kennedy (1964–present)

Dollar ($1)

Flowing Hair (1794–95)
Draped Bust (1795–1804)
1804 (1834, c. 1858–60)
Gobrecht (1836–39)
Seated Liberty (1836–73)
Gold (1849–89)
Trade (1873–85)
Morgan (1878–1904; 1921)
Peace (1921–35)
Eisenhower (1971–78)
Susan B. Anthony (1979–81; 1999)
Silver Eagle (1986–present)
Sacagawea (2000–present)
Presidential (2007–16)

Gold

Turban Head eagle (1795–1804)
Half Eagle (1795–1929)
Eagle (1795–1933)
Quarter eagle (1796–1929)
Gold dollar (1849–89)
Three-dollar piece (1854–89)
Liberty Head double eagle (1849–1907)
Double eagle (1850–1933)
Stella (1879–80)
Saint-Gaudens double eagle (1907–33)
Indian Head eagle (1907–33)
Indian Head gold pieces (1908–29)
Gold eagle (1986–present)
Gold Buffalo (2006–present)
First Spouse gold bullion coins (2007–16)

Commemorative

Early (1892–1954)	Columbian half dollar (1892–93) Isabella quarter (1893) Lafayette dollar (1900) Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar (1903) Lewis and Clark Exposition dollar (1904–05) Panama–Pacific commemorative coins (1915) McKinley Birthplace Memorial dollar (1916–17) Illinois Centennial half dollar (1918) Maine Centennial half dollar (1920) Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar (1920–21) Alabama Centennial half dollar (1921) Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar (1923) Huguenot-Walloon half dollar (1924) Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar (1925) Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar (1925) California Diamond Jubilee half dollar (1925) United States Sesquicentennial coinage (1926) Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar (1926–39) Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar (1928) Texas Centennial half dollar (1934–38) Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar (1936) Cleveland Centennial half dollar (1936) Bridgeport half dollar (1936) Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar (1936)

Modern (1982–present)	Los Angeles XXIII Olympiad dollar (1984) Eisenhower commemorative dollar (1990) Library of Congress ten dollar coin (2000) John Marshall commemorative dollar (2005) Marine Corps 230th Anniversary silver dollar (2005) Boy Scouts of America centennial silver dollar (2010)

Patterns

Three-cent bronze (1863)
Half-union (1877)

Other

Half cent (1793–1857)
Two-cent piece (1864–73)
Three-cent silver (1851–73)
Three-cent nickel (1865–89)
Twenty-cent piece (1875–78)
United States Bicentennial coinage (1975–76)
Platinum Eagle (1997–present)
America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins (2010–present)
Norse-American medal (1925)

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