Blanchard

The $4 gold Stella is one of the most famous and coveted U.S. coins. The Stella was minted in 1879 and 1880 in two types: Charles E. Barber's Flowing Hair type and George T. Morgan's Coiled Hair type. The coin was christened Stella because of the five-point star adorning the reverse.

The Stella originated as a prototype for an international coinage to closely approximate the value of common foreign coinage. However, this pattern was never produced for circulation, although instant collector demand prompted what scarce mintage there was of this unusual denomination.

A portion of the original mintage ended up in the hands of some of Washington, D.C.'s more prominent madams. These same coins had been given by the Mint Bureau to members of Congress.

Today, these coins are extremely rare and very much in demand as one of America's premier numismatic works of art. With a tiny original mintage of just 460 coins, the Stellas have always been regarded as rarities, but attrition and circulation have reduced the number of investment-grade examples to a mere handful.