1880 Proof Four Dollar Pattern - J-1658, Stella Flowing Hair

Coin Details

Auction Record

$80,500 • PR65 • 03-24-2005 • Heritage Auctions

Description

A copper striking of the celebrated Flowing Hair Stella, bearing Charles Barber's obverse design of Liberty with long, flowing tresses, a headband inscribed LIBERTY, and the metric specifications 6 G..3 S..7 C. 7 GRAMS interspersed between thirteen stars around the border. The date 1880 appears below the portrait. The reverse features a large five-pointed star (stella) inscribed with the denominations ONE STELLA and 400 CENTS, flanked by E PLURIBUS UNUM and DEO EST GLORIA, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the periphery. While the gold Flowing Hair Stella (J-1657, cataloged in the Metric & Stella denomination) is the most famous version, this copper striking served a different purpose — it allowed Mint officials, congressmen, and favored collectors to examine the design without the expense of a gold planchet. The Stella program, championed by Congressman John A. Kasson, proposed a four-dollar coin calibrated to approximate the value of several major European gold denominations, thereby facilitating international trade. By 1880, however, the proposal had lost most of its political momentum, and these second-year strikings were produced in far smaller quantities than the 1879 originals.

Rarity Notes

R-7. Fewer than 12 copper Flowing Hair specimens from 1880 survive, making them significantly rarer than the 1879 gold Flowing Hair Stella (J-1635).

Cross References

Judd J-1658, Pollock P-1858