United States | |
Value | 4 United States dollars |
---|---|
Diameter | 22 mm |
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 |
Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Design date | 1879 |
Design | Liberty with coiled hair |
Designer | George T. Morgan |
Design date | 1879 |
Reverse | |
Design | Star |
Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Design date | 1879 |
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. Morgan.[1] The flowing hair variety is the most commonly seen variety. Even though the coin was designed as a pattern coin,[2] similar to the Gobrecht dollar, many catalogs list the coin as a regular-issue item.