Four Dollar Stella
The four dollar Stella coins were first suggested by John A. Kasson. It was through the efforts of W.W. Hubbell, who patented the alloy goloid (used in making another pattern piece, the goloid metric dollar), that we have these beautiful and interesting coins.
The Four dollar stella: which was given that name because the Latin word for star is stella: the coin carries a pentagonal star on the back. It was provided by Kasson as the American answer to several foreign gold coins, which were very popular in the international market. . The British sovereign, the Italian lira 20 and 20 pesetas Spain are three of these funds: each less than the five-dollar gold bill, widely used in international trade. Stella was one of the many proposals to Congress for international trade money and one of the few that did so in the form of a sample (the second includes 1,868 five-dollar coins and 1874 Bickford ten dollar piece).
The four dollar Stella coin faced enormous obstacles right from the onset. The value of four United States dollars does not correspond to any European silver collection, but in any case, the double American eagle (twenty US dollars of silver) that was already being used in international trade was a means of exchange. The Four dollar Stella was never minted for use by the public. Those dated 1879 were struck for congressmen to examine. The 1880 coins were secretly made by Mint officials for sale to private collectors.
There are two distinct types in both years of issue. Charles E. Barber designed the Flowing Hair type, and George T. Morgan the Coiled Hair. They were struck as patterns in gold, aluminum, copper, and white metal. (Only those struck in gold are listed here.) It is likely that, of the 1879-dated Flowing Hair Stellas, about 15 were struck in 1879, and the rest in 1880.