Stella
The United States four dollar coin, also officially called a Stella, is a unit of currency equivalent to four United States dollars. It was originally minted as a coin tied to Latin Monetary Union standards, in preparation for possible U.S. entry to the Union. Two varieties of the Stella were made: Liberty with flowing hair, designed by Charles E. Barber, and with coiled hair, designed by George T. The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety.
Also recorded as United States four dollar coin
Stella

US federal government · Wiki USA · Public domain
- Field
- coin of the United States dollar and gold coin.
- Region
- United States.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The United States four dollar coin, also officially called a Stella, is a unit of currency equivalent to four United States dollars. It was originally minted as a coin tied to Latin Monetary Union standards, in preparation for possible U.S. entry to the Union. Two varieties of the Stella were made: Liberty with flowing hair, designed by Charles E. Barber, and with coiled hair, designed by George T. The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety.
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getty · 500573085 · gnd · 1140845217 · wikidata · Q747536
In this article
Overview
Overview
Even though the coin was designed as a pattern coin, similar to the Gobrecht dollar, many catalogs list the coin as a regular-issue item.

Stella 4 dollars US gold 1879 reverse
US federal government · Wiki USA
Key facts
Key facts
• Country — United States • Denomination — Stella • Value — 4 • Unit — United States dollars • Diameter — 22 • Edge — reeded • Composition — 85.7% gold, 4.3% silver, 10% copper • Years Of Minting — 1879–1880 • Mint Marks — None, all were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. • Obverse Design — Liberty with flowing hair • Obverse Designer — Charles E. Barber • Obverse Design Date — 1879 • Obverse2 Design — Liberty with coiled hair • Obverse2 Designer — George T. Morgan • Obverse2 Design Date — 1879 • Reverse Design — Star • Reverse Designer — Charles E. Barber • Reverse Design Date — 1879
History
History
The Stella was a pattern coin produced to explore the possibility of joining the Latin Monetary Union (LMU); these patterns were produced in 1879 and 1880 at the urging of John A. Kasson, a former chairman of the United States House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. The Stella was meant to contain a quantity of precious metal similar to that of the standard LMU gold piece, the twenty-franc Napoleon minted in France, Switzerland, and other LMU countries. However, the composition and weight of the Stella was not a precise match to the LMU standard: the total weight was 7 grams (rather than 6.45 grams), the gold content was 6 grams of fine gold (rather than 5.81 grams), and the coins were only.857 fine (rather than.900). Two different designs obverse were produced: one with flowing hair; in the other the hair is coiled. Both bear the same inscription: "★6★G★.3★S★.7★C★7★G★R★A★M★S★" (the five-pointed glyph variant of the "★" is used) to indicate the metallic content of the coin, and the date. The reverse star had the inscriptions ONE STELLA and 400 CENTS, while the reverse rim had the legends UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FOUR DOL., and circling the star but between its points were the legends E PLURIBUS UNUM ("Out of many, one") and DEO EST GLORIA ("To God is the glory"). The coin and the prospect of joining the Latin Monetary Union were rejected by Congress, but not before several hundred restrikes of the Barber flowing hair design had been produced and sold to Congressmen at the cost of production. These later became a source of scandal when it was noted that a number of them ended up as jewelry pieces adorning the necks of madams operating some of Washington's most infamous bordellos. • Illustration — 1879 Quintuple Stella Pattern Five examples of a pattern quintuple stella denominated at 20 dollars were produced in 1879 as well. These coins used a modified version of the then-current Liberty Head (Coronet) design of the double eagle, replacing the stars on the obverse with "★30★G★1.5★S★3.5★C★35★G★R★A★M★S★", and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse with the same DEO EST GLORIA found on the reverse of the stella. Only 425 examples of the Stella were made. All 1880 coins are rare; 25 examples are known.
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
Explore 1879–1880
The full dated record · 4 entries
1879
Stella first recorded.
1879
Stella began in 1879.
1880
Stella recorded as ended.
1880
Stella ended in 1880.
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Stella stands. Recorded as a kind of coin of the United States dollar. Situated in United States. Stella ended in 1880. Stella began in 1879. Within the Encyclopedia. Connected to 3 other published records in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1140845217, Stella.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Getty Union List of Artist Names 500573085, Stella, A..
Unverified · The Getty Research Institute
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q747536: Stella
Unverified · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1140845217, Stella.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedauthority file
Getty Union List of Artist Names 500573085, Stella, A..The Getty Research Institute
Partially resolvedauthority record
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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