Rare $4 coin made when US planned to join 19th century version of European Union sells for $2.5m

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...entury-version-European-Union-sells-2-5m.html​

​

Rare $4 coin made when US planned to join 19th century version of European Union sells for $2.5m​

• The rare 'Stella' coin has sold for $2.5million (£1.6million)
• It was made by the US in a bid to join the Latin Monetary Union
• It is one of only six still in existence

By SOPHIE JANE EVANS​

PUBLISHED: 06:58 EST, 27 September 2013 | UPDATED: 07:02 EST, 27 September 2013​

23 shares​

4​

View
comments​

​

A rare $4 coin made by the US in a bid to join the 19th century version of the European Union has sold for a staggering $2.5million (£1.6million).​

The 'Stella' was proposed by American finance chiefs in the hope it would enable the US to join the Latin Monetary Union (LMU), which was mostly made up of European countries.​

Today, only six of the coins are still in existence - making them some of the most rare and sought-after pieces in the world.​

Rare: Only six 'Stella' coins are still in existence - making them some of the most rare and sought-after pieces in the world. Above, the coiled hair variety of the $4 coin, designed by George Morgan​

The LMU, which was launched in 1865, was a forerunner to the Euro. It included France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Romania.​

At the time, most of the countries' currency was made from gold and silver, and the US was required to produce a coin of the same weight to join the pact. ​

The 'Stella' contained the same amount of precious metal as the LMU's standard gold piece - the 20 Franc Napoleon coin, minted in France, Switzerland and other countries. ​

Two varieties of the coin were made - one with flowing hair, designed by Charles Barber, and the other with coiled hair, designed by George Morgan. The flowing hair design was the most common variety.​

​

The coin's reverse star bore the inscriptions 'One Stella' and '400 Cents', while its rim displayed the words 'United States of America' and 'Four Dol'.​

Only 425 of the coins were made before the bid was finally scrapped by the US government two years later.​

Paul Song, director of rare coins and medals at Bonhams in Los Angeles, said he was 'delighted' at the sale of the $4 coin. ​

He said: 'I am stunned and delighted. The sale proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that superb quality and great rarity are a magical mix.'​

The LMU was disbanded in 1927 after some countries made coins with inadequate amounts of silver and gold - resulting in them being exchanged for coins from elsewhere that had been minted correct​

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

short series and expensive

 

Beautiful coin! 2.5 Mil wow!

 

If I remember correctly, there are 8-10 estimated for this type only, but for all "Stellas" it is somewhere in the hundreds.

 

great coin. crazy price. I thought coiled hair stellas went for like 300,000-400,000 must have been the best 1.

 

Yes, I remember the same. The coiled hair in gold is the most sought after. They also made these in off-metal strikes.

I just wish they would say "pattern" in such articles. Technically its a pattern, not a coin, since it was never authorized for circulation.

 

One of my favorite coins. Just something about it. I wish the $3 gold looked more like this.