Are you aware that it takes about 8 SECONDS to establish the current in the coil, and another 4 sec for the current to cease after the transistor is turned off! Look at the attached simulation: I modeled a switch in the base circuit that turns on at 1s, is on for 8s, and then turns off. I had to add a resistor to limit the base current (I hope you are using one, otherwise you will likely blow up the transistor). Note that when the transistor shuts off, the inductor current continues to flow through the snubber diode. The energy stored in the inductor is dissipated in its own coil resistance (4Ω). Note that the snubber diode clamps the reverse voltage across the inductor at about -0.5V with respect to ground.
This is not a very good way of driving the inductor, because of the power lost in the transistor which when connected in the common-collector configuration can not turn on fully. The power dissipation in the transistor is over 2W, and would have to be mounted on a heatsink.
Contrast that to the common-emitter configuration which is shown in the second circuit. Note that the snubber still provides a current path for the coil current after the transistor turns off, this time clamping the voltage ~ 0.5V above the 9V supply voltage while the coil energy is dissipated. The power dissipation while the transistor is turned on in this configuration is much lower; about 1/2W.