FOUND! The Lost Coin of King Kalakaua!

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1 OFFICIAL NEWSLEITER OF ROYAL HAWAIIAN MINT TLI FOUND! The Lost Coin of King Kalakaua! The HAPAWALU Eighth Dala Was Supposed To Be Issued In 1883 But Only 38 Were Ever Minted - And Then They Disappeared! OCfOBER, 1990 VOL 7, NO.6 HAPAWALU shown actual size Ever quest after that special goal or coin - and finally get it? Finally win. Great eh? Well that happened to me. And now that the three years of problems are behind me, I want to share something very special with you. The Royal Hawaiian Mint has acquired one of the rarest and most fascinating of all Hawaiian coins, the 1883 HAPAWALU Eighth Dala. Originally worth 12 1f 2 cents in 1883, it is worth tens of thousands of dollars today and is called, THE LOST COIN OF KING KAI.AKAUA, because it was never issued! The handful that were minted soon vanished and for many years, there were questions about if the coins had ever been made at all. Piece by piece the story of this elusive coin has been unraveled and its existence confirmed. The Mint now owns one of the six original Copper Proofs known to exist. Slabbed Proof 64 by PCGS, the Hapawalu really is a beauty!

2 HAPAWALU showtt actual size The Origin of the Hapawalu Just before 1883, Hawaii's ruling monarch, King Kalakaua, gave his royal approval of the first (and only) legal tender coinage to be issued by the Kingdom of Hawaii. His representative approached Charles Barber, one of the world's foremost coiners, at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, to create a four coin series, dated Several months later, at least one of the original18 Copper Proof Sets that contained a One Dala (Dollar), Half Dala, Quarter Dala and the famous Hapawalu Eighth Dala was presented to King Kalakaua for his approval. The proposed coinage equaled the majesty and beauty of the other royal coins that the King had seen and he quickly approved the set Yet, when the order for the 1883 issue was placed with the San Francisco Mint, the Hapawalu Eighth Dala was missing! In it's place was the Umi Ken eta, a decimal coin worth ten cents or a tenth of a Dala. The coins, minus the Hapawalu, were struck, shipped to Hawaii and immediately placed in circulation. Then no one heard about the Hapawalu for more than half a century. But now it is known that of the original18 Copper Proof Sets there are only six Hapawalusknown to exist And that in 1884, 20 Silver Hapawalus were also minted and of these only 11 are known. So now there are only 17 of the 38 Hapawalus in the world! And the Royal Hawaiian Mint has one! And not one of the later silver pieces. No sir! We got one of the six original Copper Hapawalus known to exist Possibly the very specimen submitted to the King himself! This prestigious acquisition by The Mint is the culmination of an intensive and very often a frustrating search that began more than three years ago when The Mint decided to create the first replica of this exceptional raritv. But in order to capture all the rich details of this fabulous coin, we wanted the dies to be made from an actual Hapawalu! The Search For The Lost Coin The first step was to find an authentic Hapawalu to use as a model. With only a handful of Hapawalus in the entire world, it meant that The Mint had to locate the owners, one by one, until we could convince one of them to let their Hapawalu serve as our model. The search took months. The negotiations were difficult and frustrating.

3 On one occasion, a Hapawalu owner agreed to allow The Mint's Mintmaster to make an impression of his Hapawalu, locked in the vault of a New York City bank. Arrangements were made for the Mintmaster to ily from Honolulu to New York, carrying the equipment and material needed to make the impression. At the last moment, the arrangements fell through when when it was learned that the cost of an insurance policy to protect the coin against any damage from the impression making process, would cost almost as much as the coin itself. Finally when it became clear that we were not going to be able to make an impression of someone else's Hapawalu, The Mint set out on a quest to acquire a Hapawalu of its own. Word was received that a Hapawalu would be auctioned at a sale in Hong Kong. The Mint's representatives there were alerted, but the Hapawalu being offered was of poor quality. Then it was learned that a Hapawalu would be offered at a coin auction in Chicago. The Hapawalu, as part of a proof set, was expected to attract bids of up to $80,000 or more. The set actually went for $209,000!1! Making the Hapawalu worth at least $100,000!!! Then came news that one of the six Copper Proofs was available. The Mint acted immediately to arrange the purchase because it was perfect for the planned recreation of the famous Hapawalu. The Recreation Begins At first all went well. "Plasters" which is the first step in creating high quality coining dies, were made for both the Hapawalu's Obverse and Reverse. Using Plasters is much more expensive and time consuming, but it allows the Mintmaster to ensure the final quality, down to the smallest detail. The Plasters were reviewed, approved, and shipped to the diemaker then lost! An intensive search that lasted for weeks was launched. The project was already behind schedule. There was no time to create another set of Plasters. The ones already made would have to be found or the Hapawalu Issue delayed, or even postponed. The missing Plasters were finally located some 10 days after being "lost". Apparently, they had arrived at the diemaker in a safe and timely manner. But an employee, uncertain of their purpose, put them to one side. A second employee moved the plasters to make room for another project and a third employee laid a piece of paper atop the package. And the Hapawalu was "lost'' again! But even after the plasters were found, the problems were not over. Cutting a perfect set of dies proved to be almost impossible because of the basic design of the Hapawalu. Set after set of dies were flawed or proved unacceptable. Finally, the dies were masterfully cut (Thanks Ken) for an exact replica. The fourth set was perfect, with flawless images on both the Obverse and Reverse sides of the Hapawalu. BE SURE TO READ IMPORTANT NOTICE!

4 The Hapawalu Reborn Now, more than a century after its intended release, the Hapawalu lives -not only in a Silver design, but also in gleaming gold! Meticulously minted in the originall7 mm size at at our new Honolulu headquarters on Proof planchets, the Hapawalu GOLD Proof is available at the affordable Issue Price of just $149 each and contains an eighth ounce of pure.9999 Fine Gold. The Hapawalu SILVER Proof is available for only $35 each and contains an eighth ounce of.999 Fine Silver. Both Gold and Silver Hapawalus are dated 1991 and comes sealed in a truly beautiful custom booklet that measures four by six inches and is stamped in gold or silver. Inside is the story of the Hapawalu and an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity and Ownership. This magnificent booklet alone is so beautiful, it should be in every Hawaiiana Collection. Total production of the Hapawalu will be limited to just 1000 Gold and only 5000 Silver Proofs. In order to ensure supply will fill expected demand, there is a limit of three Gold and/or 10 Silver Hapawalus per order. The Hapawalu -the King's Lost Coin- will become the centerpiece of your collection and its fascinating story is one that you will share with friends and other collectors. Only a few collectors in the entire world can own an original Hapawalu, so I urge you to get your own personally numbered Hapawalu in gold and silver. This is our very first notice. You're guaranteed to get an outstanding specimen for your Hawaiian collection without the three years of searching that I invested. Please order right away. This offer expires on November 15th, 1990! ALOHA! Here's a photo of the new mint on KalakauaAve.! It's real nice and a place that I hope all of you can visit. Please let us know that you're a MINTUNE collector as we specially like to meet you. Having a storefront has also spawn a couple new varieties. In addition to the 1990 SilverHonolulu Dala without the counter-strike, it is now available beautifully layered in 24 Karat Gold on bronze for $9.50 or gift boxed for $ And visitors often take home their change in ROYAL HAWAIIAN TRADE DAI.AS worth "one dollar in trade." Both available on the Hapawalu Order Form. Looking forward to meeting you now that The Mint's open again. Thanks for collecting. Much Aloha. Bernard von NotHaus, Mintmaster, 1990 BVNH ROYAL HAWAIIAN MINf 1421 Kalakaua Avenue

5 Aloha Gifts for Christmas 1990 SILVER HAWAII DAIA The 1990 Hawaii Dala, our longest running annual issue, commemorates the King Kalakaua Dala of the only Hawaiian coinage to circulate as legal tender. The 1990 Hawaii Dala measures 39 mm and contains one full ounce of.999 Fine Silver. Each Dala is Proof Minted and beautifully packaged in a black hinged box with a silver stamped certificate for $39.00 each SILVER ALOHA DAIA The 1990 Aloha Dala, inaugural issue with Queen Liliuokalani is the perfect companion to the Hawaii Dala and reflects the feminine perspective. The reverse also features the Kingdom of Hawaii's coat of arms from the 1883 issue. The 1990 Aloha Dala measures 39 mm and contains one ounce of Silver. Each Dala is Proof Minted and beautifully packaged in a black hinged box with a silver stamped certificate for $39.00 each HONOLULU DAIA The 1990 Honolulu Dala, with the King K.amehameha statue that's just down King Street from The Mint, and a magnificent Diamond Head on the reverse is the perfect commemorate of Hawaii's capital The 39 mm "HonoDala" is available four ways. The.999 Fine Silver variety is only $15.95 in a flippet or gift boxed with a certificate for $ A Gold layered variety is $9.50 each or $12.95 gift boxed. Please note the CHRISTMAS SPECIAL of five boxed HonoDalas for only $ The 1990 Royal Hawaiian Trade Dala is exactly that. A 39 mm Trade Token worth "one dollar in trade" at the Royal Hawaiian Mint. Available only in brushed Bronze with any purchase. $1.00 each ROYAL HAWAIIAN TRADEDAIA

6 Aloha and Merry Christmas! The Hapawalu has been such a time consuming "labor of love" that as we go to press with this MINTLINE -it now appears unlikely that we will not have sufficient time to issue another newsletter in time for Christmas. Please use this mini catalog and order form or just call us collect with your questions. Last minute credit card purchases and phone orders welcome After such an amazing year here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 1991! ROYAL HAWAIIAN GOLD HONORING QUEEN LILIUOKAlANI IS THE LAST YEAR OF OUR FIRST BULLION SERIES MINTED IN HAW All. This limited Numbered Edition of only 400 sets consists of 5 different Proof Crowns, 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce 1/10 ounce and 1/20 ounce. The set weighs nearly two full ounces of Gold and comes beautifully packaged too. This is your last notice for your beautiful, I mean beautiful set! Please complete your collection at this time or your reserved number will be reassigned. All five Gold Crowns (sizes) with King Kalakaua or Queen Uliuokalani are available individually boxed as bullion or jewelry. Please call collect for current quote and credit card purchase. AKAH1 CROWN 1 oz. ALL CROWNS ARE SHO\\'N ACTIJALSIZE 1990 ROYAL HAWAIIAN GOLD - HAWAII'S FIRST GOLD BULLION ISSUE