The Big Three
Mega Chase features three major hits, each with its own story to tell. Read their stories here, and check out the rest of Mega Chase 2025 here.
The Legendary $4 Stella
A Rarity Beyond Compare
Designer: Charles E. Barber
Weight: 7.00 Grams
Composition: 86% Gold, 4% Silver, 10% Copper
Mintage: 425
Few United States coins inspire the awe and fascination of the 1879 and 1880 $4 gold pieces known as Stellas. Conceived in the late 1870s as part of an ambitious plan to create an international trade coinage, the Stella remains one of the most coveted and iconic issues in American numismatics. Across all varieties, only 490 Stellas were ever struck according to PCGS, and though never intended for circulation, they have long commanded six-figure prices as symbols of rarity, artistry, and prestige.
The idea originated with U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary John A. Kasson, who proposed a gold coin compatible with European standards under the Latin Monetary Union. Designed to ease international trade, the $4 denomination displayed its metal composition in metric terms, an innovative touch for its time.
At Congress’s request, the Mint produced limited examples in 1879 and 1880. Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber created the Flowing Hair design, depicting Liberty facing left with wind-swept hair and encircled by thirteen stars representing the Union. The reverse features a five-pointed star, the stella itself, surrounded by inscriptions denoting the coin’s composition and national motto, a bold statement of America’s growing sophistication in global trade.
This example, an 1879 Flowing Hair certified PR65 by PCGS, embodies the pinnacle of 19th-century minting craftsmanship. With its golden luster and exquisite proof finish, it stands not only as a masterpiece of coin design but also as a lasting emblem of America’s early ambitions in global commerce.
A true cornerstone of elite collections, the Stella remains one of the brightest stars in American coinage.
The 1795 $5 Half Eagle
America’s First Gold Coin
Designer: Robert Scot
Weight: 8.75 Grams
Composition: 91.7% Gold, 8.3% Copper
Mintage: 8,707
The 1795 $5 Half Eagle marks the dawn of American gold coinage – an event of profound significance in the young nation’s quest for monetary independence. In June of that year, Henry DeSaussure succeeded David Rittenhouse as Director of the United States Mint, intent on beginning gold production and elevating the artistry of American coin design.
Under Rittenhouse’s earlier supervision, Chief Engraver Robert Scot had already prepared dies for the new denomination, and on July 31, 1795, a delivery of 744 Half Eagles was recorded – the first official gold coins ever struck by the United States Mint.
Scot’s “Capped Bust Right” design drew on classical ideals: Liberty appears as a Roman-style Hellenistic goddess with softly arranged hair and a large cap, her bust modestly draped to suit late-18th-century sensibilities. The reverse depicts a delicate eagle perched upon a palm branch and clutching a wreath, symbols of peace and rebirth for the fledgling republic.
With a small mintage and few survivors in mint condition, this PCGS MS62 specimen stands as an extraordinary relic of the Washington era. This coin’s gentle luster and hand-engraved artistry reflect the young nation’s earliest experiments in gold.
This is more than a coin; it is the foundation of American numismatic history, a tangible fragment of the republic’s first gold, preserved in brilliance for over two centuries.
The 1905 $20 Liberty Head
A Turn of the Century Masterpiece
Designer: James Barton Longacre
Weight: 33.40 Grams
Composition: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Mintage: 92
The 1905 $20 Liberty Head was struck during the twilight years of the Liberty Head Double Eagle series, a design by James B. Longacre, Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint from 1844 to 1869. Longacre’s Liberty Head motif, first introduced in 1849, had become a cornerstone of American coinage for over half a century. The obverse portrays Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, encircled by thirteen stars representing the original states, while the reverse depicts a heraldic eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows – symbols of peace and strength.
For 1905, records show that the Philadelphia Mint produced 58,910 business-strike Double Eagles and an officially reported 92 proofs. These proofs were struck with exceptional care on polished planchets, using multiple blows from specially prepared dies to achieve mirrorlike fields and frosted devices.
A specimen such as this PCGS PR64 example embodies the peak of late-19th-century Mint craftsmanship, its reflective depth and frosted relief capturing the artistry of an era soon to end. Just two years later, in 1907, Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s bold new design would redefine American coinage.
The 1905 Proof Double Eagle thus stands not only as a rarity but as a luminous farewell to the Gilded Age, a coin born of elegance, precision, and the pursuit of perfection.
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