FLOAT
The Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection specimen of the 1880 Coiled Hair Stella four-dollar gold pattern, obverse and reverse. The FLOAT constituent is priced on the NGC PF67 CAC example; this is the Smithsonian's example of the same issue.
National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution

1880 Coiled Hair Stella ($4 Gold)

Maker
U.S. Mint (Philadelphia)
Year
1880
Rank
12 of 100

1880 Coiled Hair Stella ($4 Gold)

1880 Coiled Hair Stella ($4 Gold) by U.S. Mint (Philadelphia) (1880) is ranked 12 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $2,280,000 on 26 August 2025. The rarest and most coveted of the legendary $4 'Stella' patterns; a numismatic icon every collector knows.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The rarest and most coveted of the legendary $4 'Stella' patterns; a numismatic icon every collector knows.

$4 gold pattern, Coiled Hair, NGC PF67 CAC (Judd-1660)

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$2,280,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
26 August 2025

Heritage Auctions, August 2025 ANA US Coins Signature. 1880 Coiled Hair Stella, NGC PF67 CAC, realized $2,280,000 — record for any Stella through Heritage.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08