The Hawaiian Islands were discovered in 1778 by Captain James Cook who called them the Sandwich Islands. The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands was established in 1795 under King Kamehameha the Great. Hawaii became a Republic on July 4, 1894. The Hawaiian Islands were incorporated into the United States on August 12, 1898, and became a state on August 21, 1959.
The first coins were issued in Hawaii in 1847. These coins were copper hapa haneri (cents) depicting King Kamehameha III. The Hawaiian Islands issued Dollars (HWD) at par with the United States Dollar between 1879 and 1899. Banknotes were issued by the Department of Finance, and 1 Dollar (Akahi Dala) was divisible into 100 Cents (Hapa Haneli). Coins were minted in 1846, issued in 1847, and ceased to be legal tender in 1884, though they were used after that date due to a lack of alternatives. Many Hawaiianss rejected the coins because the denomination was misspelled (Haneri vs. Haneli), and the king’s portrait was essentially unrecognizable. Hawaii adopted the United States Dollar (USD) once it became part of the United States. During World War II, special Hawaiian Dollar banknotes (USH) were issued for military in the Pacific Theater. The banknotes were at par with the United States Dollar and equivalent to 20 Japanese Military Yen. |
