Patterns 1880 $4 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1659, Pollock-1859,

Patterns
1880 $4 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1659, Pollock-1859, R.7, Gilt, PR64 NGC. On the obverse the head of Liberty, hair flowing down below her neck, faces left, with the inscription (each character separated by stars) 6 G .3 S .7 C 7 G R A M S around the rim. She wears a coronet bearing the word LIBERTY in her hair, and the date 1880 is below. On the reverse a five-pointed star occupies the center, bearing the legend ONE STELLA / 400 CENTS. In an inner circle are E PLURIBUS UNUM and DEO EST GLORIA ("God is glory"), with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FOUR DOL. around the outer rim. Struck in aluminum with a reeded edge, and subsequently gilt. The gilt layer appears to include a brass alloy that provides attractive sea-green and rose-red hues in addition to the expected orange-gold color. The sharply struck surfaces appear unblemished. Housed in a circa 1989-1992 Generation 4 "fatty no-line" holder. The present lot is possibly lot 547 from our January 1997 FUN Bullet auction, an NGC PR64 specimen described as "multi-hued."
The four-dollar stella is a pattern-only denomination bearing 1879 and 1880 dates, with two basic designs: the Coiled Hair by Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan, and the Flowing Hair by Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The designs were struck in gold, copper, aluminum, and white metal, with the gold pieces typically commanding the highest auction prices, even though the off-metal pieces are often rarer. Many of the off-metal stellas have been gilt, especially the copper pieces. The gilt layer makes it difficult to confirm whether an encapsulated example is copper (Judd-1658) with about 20 known, or aluminum (Judd-1659) with approximately five known. The Simpson aluminum specimen is gilt, and most of the Judd-1658 specimens are gilt. No white metal 1880 Flowing Hair stellas are confirmed. As of (3/25), the present lot is not photographed in the Saul Teichman rosters. www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

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Certification number: NGC 141289004