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1879 $4 Gold. Flowing Hair NGC Proof 63

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1879 $4 Gold. Flowing Hair NGC Proof 63
<b>1879 &#36;4 Gold. Flowing hair. NGC graded Proof 63.</b> Housed in an NGC grading holder, this historic choice quality Four-Dollar gold piece, or &#34;Stella&#34; as it came to be known, was proposed to solve a couple of problems facing the United States system of coinage in the 1870s. The first was to make a coin whose &#34;intrinsic measure and value&#34; as part of the design was sufficient to make it useful as an international trade coin. The other, as a bone tossed to the silver &#34;interests&#34; as they were called, was to strike these in an alloy that used either 4% silver or 10% silver, thereby increasing sales of this semi-precious metal by the silver mining states. For all its intended merits, the Stella project was soon abandoned. But only after 425 1879 Flowing Hair coins were minted, split into two groups, 25 of which are considered &#34;originals&#34; and made in 1879, followed by 400 strikes from the same dies made in 1880 after Congressmen got involved in the proposal and wanted representative samples, for purely altruistic purposes. This is among the most eye-catching Proof 63 examples bidders will see or third-party graders will certify. It has nice reflective &#34;mirrors&#34; that have a hint of satiny luster typical of the issue. The presence of faint striations running diagonally through Liberty&#39;s upper hair is also entirely consistent with the series of &#36;4 coins. On the present specimen, the central obverse hair curls, which are nicely detailed, are almost as bold in execution as you are bound to see. The sharpness transfers over to the star&#39;s center and dotted border, which usually doesn&#39;t show this amount of detail. An endlessly-popular denomination, the 1879 Flowing Hair &#36;4 Stella has long been prized as an integral part of a complete United States gold coin collection or Type set. This handsome Proof among the better ones we&#39;ve seen.

THE IMPRESSIVE 1879 FLOWING HAIR &#36;4 STELLA.

The 1879 Flowing Hair Stella is by all accounts a Pattern, it has been widely desired by collectors since the time of inception. For this reason, it has been included in regular catalogs, among which have been Wayte Raymond&#39;s &#34;Standard Catalogue of United States Coins,&#34; published in 18 editions from 1935 to 1958, plus the ubiquitous &#34;Guidebook of United States Coins&#34; we all use today. To read about a Stella and see an image of one is to develop a possession desire. But to hold one in your hands imparts a warm glow to one&#39;s consciousness. Historically, year in and year out these have been in great demand and are destined to be into the far-flung future. It is always a pleasure to offer one in our sales <b>&#40;PCGS # 8057&#41;</b> <i>
The Good River Collection.</i>

Our item number 123682