1879 $4 STELLA, FLOWING HAIR PR66 Deep Cameo

GEM DEEP MIRRORED SURFACES WITH ICY DEVICES. ENHANCED BY A LOVELY ORANGE PEEL GLOW. ONLY 425 STRUCK. JUST 4 COINS GRADED HIGHER AT PCGS. The Philadelphia Mint struck only 425 examples of the 1879-dated Flowing Hair Stella in 1879 for distribution to politicians and other dignitaries. A few of the coins were struck in 1879, but most were produced in early 1880 after the proposed coin proved so popular among Congresional leaders. In fact, legend has it that Congressmen gave many of these pieces to their mistresses as gifts. Many survivors are certainly impaired from use as jewelry or other mishandling and, while the 1879 Flowing Hair is the most frequently encountered of the four Stella issues in today's market, high-grade pieces are rare from a condition standpoint. Such is the importance and desirability of the 1879 Stella that the issue has been assigned the #28 ranking in the 2005 book " 100 Greatest U.S. Coins " by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth.