Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-01-05
FOUR.DOLLAR GOLD PIECE
Facts About Its COinngc n Quarter Of n
Century AGO.

In the Cincinnati Enquirer of April
appears n Clipping from YOUR parer.
with headline reading, Unique Com
Is The Stella the Only -Four Dollar
coli piocc in tho World" in which VOL
sly th,t a fourdollar gold coin which
j. 'probahlv tho only one Of its kind
in eNiStcnc" il on exhibition at the Cor
mania National bank ut your city. ana
thnt - is valucd by the bank officials at
500; that it is Of the diameter of d,
five.1ollar gold piece. hut thinner: that
on its face is the well-known I.ibertv-
hoa1. without the cap. and around this
aye thirteen stars intcrsrcrsed with ii"
letters "s G 3 $ C. Grams" ant
"ou say the exact nearing OF these lot
tors none Of the bank Officials have Ak
ccrtaincd; that on the reverse side 81
The coin is a ve-rointed star. in which
is cut III" inscription. conc Stolla--ihl
cents, around vhirh are tho words
IL Pluribus Tnunl. Dec Est Gloria ="
and around these forming tho rim on
this side 81 tho coin arc the wor'
United states of America. -Four Dol"
writes F.. r. Finley in the milwaukee,
Sentinel
You further say that about fftocr
wears AGO this coin was sent 10 WASH
ir.ton by tho Merchants Exchanl,
ban; of YOUR city. but that the only. in
formation obtained was that Tho coin
was genuine. | have cre of theso coins
in my possession. and two others part
gold and part silver coins. nlinted at
smaller ono of these coins is the Lib
er.v head with the cap ard the year
49,. together with thirteen stars and
tho words. 81; Pluribus Unum." on
tho rovers" side II reads, "Unltod
states OF America. Goloid Metric Dol
lar l7.s-G 1861 s. 60 "a lirarus."
and below it Doc Est Gloria. one
Hundred Cents" The larger ono ha,
he same fac and inscriptions and on
one. with the exception tnat it tead-
'%I1.s-S, 4.2-G, l"-C % Grams" and
the words "One Dollar
The cabalistic characters G : and
e which puzzled your bank officials
stand for gold 3, silver :, aud cop
per = and am able to give you tho
hietor+ Of the mining of these several
coins b. the United States.
They were mirted, as tho coins show.
in 1874. at which time l was in Con.
yress. from Ohio and Alexander H.
.:terhens. vice-president OF the corfed-
cracy. was chairman of the conmtto.
on coinage weights an measures.
Mr.. stephens introduced fr'n the
committee n hill to change our coinage
from the present 10 the metric system
corresponding with the French system
as yctollcct. as Indicated BY these
coins. and thereupon Congress rassed
an act that n limited number of sets %
these coins should be minted for the
use nf each member Of the committees,
the president and his cabinet, and pos
sbly for each member Of Congress and
tho Senate. but about that / am not
sure Tho hill charging the coinage
failed to hfcor,o .. law. and though It
received considerable consideration Nv
Congress. AMI "m Of the impression
that Alexander RI. stephens delivered I
speech on tho subject, which WAS en-
tensively published NJ tho time, yet in
thc short period of twenty-five To1r1
the whole subject las become so loss
and forgotten by III" public that one 1T
TIC coins found and On exhibition in one
% your banks is spoculatoG upon by
tho press ?s much as the discovery of
hidden coin Of tho old Roman c'n-
pirc and. according To what YOU say,
even the officials at WASHINGTON know
nothing about II. Sic transit gloria
mundi.'.