World coins chat: Hawaii

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Hawaii is the name of an island and archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that became the 50th state of the USA in 1959. From 1795 until 1893 it was an independent kingdom after which it became a republic. In 1898 it was annexed by the USA. Hawaii's present-day population totals 1.4 million people.

Hawaii was inhabited by Polynesian people when James Cook discovered it in 1778 and named them the Sandwich Islands. A year later Cook's crew revisited the islands and stole artefacts from a temple, which led to a hostile reaction by the Hawaiians who occupied his ship. In turn Cook's men took King Kalani'Opu'u of Hawaii Island as a hostage as an attempt to exchange him for Cook's ship. Hawaiian warriors were outraged and killed James Cook and four of his crew but the rest was able to get away.

After this many Westerners showed interest for Hawaii as a trading and refreshing station strategically located in the heart of the Pacific. In 1795, King Kamehameha the Great unified the archipelago and founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. The next decades European and American interests expanded, with British interest the most prominent. Hawaii's flag features the British Union Flag even today, the only US state flag to do so.


David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii from 1874 until 1891.

Western business interests started to influence Hawaiian politics more and more. In 1893 they staged a coup to oust Queen Lili'uokalani and proclaimed the Republic of Hawaii, which was in effect a white oligarchy with no power at all for Hawaiians. In 1898 the authorities of the republic voted to cede the whole territory to the USA. In a short timeframe the US obtained both Hawaii and the Philippines (result of the Spanish-American War) and thus became a naval power that controlled the Pacific. It was an important milestone in the building of the American Empire that still exists today.

In 1941 the Japanese Empire delivered a serious blow to the US Navy in the Battle of Pearl Harbour when more than 2,000 US Marines died in a surprise Japanese attack. The Japanese victory however was short-lived because production facilities were mostly unaffected and the US was now drawn into the war and was able to defeat the Japanese Empire in four years' time.

Hawaii became the 50th US state in 1959 and was so far the last to join. It is the only US state that is not located in North America.

Currency
In 1847 the Kingdom of Hawaii introduced copper Cents that were used next to US currency. These coins were not popular as the portrait of Kamehameha III was considered to be of inferior quality. In 1883 a series of a silver dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar were introduced which circulated until 1903. After being demonetised most of these coins were melted. A decent amount still exist but as they are in great demand by US collectors they are pretty expensive. The most affordable is the dime, but be cautious as there are many forgeries being offered.

A very rare nickel 5 Cents was introduced in 1881. Instead of Hawaii the name of the country on this coin was the old English name 'Sandwich Islands'.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/hawaii-1.html

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