1883 Kingdom of Hawaii Silver Quarter // PCGS Certified MS65 // Deluxe Collector's Pouch

Offered here is a scarce one quarter coin issued by the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1883, prior to the American annexation. You will receive the unique coin shown in the photos housed in a deluxe collector’s pouch with a certificate of authenticity.

America’s 50th state since 1959, Hawaii first became known to the Western world when discovered by Captain James Cook of Great Britain in 1778. The individual island states were later united in 1810 by King Kamehameha I. The creation of large plantations and the adoption of a Western-style economy by the 1820s created a demand for coined money. The initial coins were brought from various foreign nations but were always in short supply. King Kamehameha III (1825-1854) attempted to address this shortage by introducing a Hawaiian monetary system in 1846. This system provided for a unit known as the dala, based on the American dollar and divided into 100 keneta, or cents.

Several denominations of silver coins were included, as well as a copper piece valued at one keneta. The copper keneta was produced for Hawaii by the private minting facility of H.M. & E.I. Richards of Attleboro, Massachusetts and dated 1847. The obverse bore a portrait of Kamehameha III, with his name and title KA MOI (the King). The reverse featured a laurel wreath and the words AUPUNI HAWAII (Kingdom of Hawaii). Within it was supposed to appear the denomination HAPA HANELI (Money of 100), but the American diesinker Edward Hulseman misspelled it as HAPA HANERI. Furthermore, the King’s depiction was considered unrecognizable, so for these reasons the new coins were widely rejected in Hawaii. No other coins were produced until the rule of King Kalakaua (1874-1891), who sought to bring the islands up to Western standards.

King Kalakaua contracted with the United States to produce several silver coins equivalent to the U.S. denominations of 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, and 1 dollar. The dies for all coins were prepared by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, dated 1883, and struck at the San Francisco Mint on U.S. coin blanks. All coins featured the portrait of King Kalakaua on the obverse and either the central shield of the Hawaiian Coat of Arms (fractional pieces) or the full Coat of Arms (1 Dala piece) on the reverse. Hawaii’s motto, Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness), also appears on the reverse. These silver coins were far more successful than their earlier copper counterparts and remained in circulation until well after the American annexation of Hawaii in 1898. They were gradually withdrawn thereafter and replaced with American coins. Retired pieces were returned to the U.S. and melted. As a result, all denominations are considered scarce in circulated grades and genuinely rare in Mint State condition.