|
Sale 53
Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction
| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 1251 |
 |
1879 $4 Gold. Flowing hair. PCGS graded Proof 65 Cameo. Nice golden toning. 425+ struck. A bright gleaming gold specimen with some deeper accents of color in the fields. Cameo frosted motifs receive their support from the fine reflective fields, and account for the a pleasing contrast plus the high grade it deserves. The coin is a extremely well struck for the issue, with only a trace of soft detail in some of Liberty's hair curls. Faint mint-caused striations are found at the centers, as is always the case on Stellas; we are unaware of exceptions to this. Surfaces are virtually pristine. Devices, the same. The grade captures the soul of this coin's originality. All in all, we are presenting to bidders a marvelous Gem Proof example of a rare and widely admired issue. Pop 8; 10 in 66 CAM; 2 in 67 CAM. (PCGS # 88057) .
Historic note about the confusing Judd & Pollock numbering schemes: Judd called all 1879 Flowing Hair Stellas struck in gold "J-1635." Later research developed the theory that the gold Stellas were produced in two different finenesses, to which Pollock assigned different numbers. The first, P-1832, represents pieces struck in 85.71 fine gold, 4.29 fine silver, and 10.0 fine copper. It is believed that these were the first 15 struck. Later, after interested parties requested samples of the new Pattern design, some 400 or more additional pieces were made on .900 fine gold planchets, those being designated P-1833. Students of the series find it difficult to distinguish between them other than by means of expensive non-destructive testing; the weights do differ slightly for the two metallic alloys.
Estimated Value $170,000 - 180,000.
View details and enlarged photos
Check results on similar lots
| Unsold |
Lot 1252 |
 |
1879 $4 Gold. Flowing hair. PCGS graded Proof 64 Cameo PQ. Lovely warm reddish golden toning. 425+ struck. This is the historic Pattern issue struck in gold, a resplendent 1879 $4 Flowing Hair "Stella", Judd-1635, Pollock-1832-3, Rarity-6. The history of the four dollar gold piece, or "stella," is ingrained in the late 19th century desire to produce U.S. coinage that would be acceptable on the international market. The dual denomination $5-25 francs pattern coinage of 1868 (Judd-656 through 659) is one of the earliest attempts in this direction. It was followed by Dana Bickford's 1874 pattern eagle (Judd-1373 through 1378) and, finally in these handsome metric 1879-1880 Stellas. The Flowing Hair style features Charles E. Barber's rendition of Liberty. Barber was the assistant engraver at the mint, which struck the $4 denomination in two alloys in 1879. Twenty five coins (Pollock-1832) were produced in the metric alloy of 85.71% gold, 4.29% silver, and 10.0% copper. The Mint delivered these pieces to Congress as part of three-piece pattern sets. Increased demand for representations of the new denomination resulted in the production of a further 400 coins (Pollock-1833) in the standard alloy of 90.0% gold and 10.0% copper.
This handsome Proof 64 offering may be to be one of the latter 400 coins in standard 90-10 alloy struck in 1880, as seen from the light die striations in the central portion of the obverse. The fields are divinely reflective and glossy with attractive mint frostiness on the devices providing contrast. The frosted relief gives the coin its noticeable, and quite beautiful cameo contrast. The usual tiny luster grazes that accompany many Proofs of this type are clearly absent here, nor are there any errant specks of grease or orange copper "spots" -- thereby creating an impression of first-class preservation and eye-appeal! The coin is housed in a PCGS holder and is sure to be a hit with advanced bidders to the sale, hence our use of the title: Premium Quality. Pop 67; 54 finer; 25 in 65; 29 in 66. (PCGS # 8057) .
Footnote: This historic Four-Dollar gold piece, or "Stella" as it came to be known, was proposed to solve a couple of vexing problems faced by the United States system of coinage in the 1870s. The first was to make a coin whose "intrinsic measure and value" 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 "Interests" as they were termed, 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 as described above, 25 of which are considered "originals" 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.
Estimated Value $130,000 - 140,000.
The Mark Gordon Collection.
View details and enlarged photos
Check results on similar lots
| Realized
$143,750 |
|
|
