Item: i113810
 
Authentic Medal of:

United States of America
Hawaii under Kalakaua I (King: 1874-1891)
1883 S Silver 25 Cents Quarter 24.3mm (6.07 grams) .900 Silver (0.oz. ASW) San Francisco Mint
Reference: KM# 5 | Engraver: Charles Barber
KALAKAUA I KING OF HAWAII · 1883 ·, Bust of King Kalākaua I facing right.
UA MAU KE EA O KA AINA I KA PONO. ¼ D HAPAHA, Crowned Coat-of-Arms (Main features: The quartered shield has in the 1st and 4th quarters; the red, white and blue stripes representing the eight inhabited Hawaiian islands. The 2nd and 3rd quarters have two emblems of taboo. The inner escutcheon has crossed spears and the shield in surmounted by the Crown of Hawaii.)

Coin Notes:
Of the 500,000 Minted coins across all varieties; 257,400 where redeemed an exchanged by US standard coinage and then melted. This leaves less than 242,600 in existence at that point.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, until his death. Succeeding Lunalilo, he was elected to the vacant throne of Hawaiʻi against Queen Emma. Kalākaua had a convivial personality and enjoyed entertaining guests with his singing and ukulele playing. At his coronation and his birthday jubilee, the hula that had been banned from public in the kingdom became a celebration of Hawaiian culture.

During his reign, the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 brought great prosperity to the kingdom. Its renewal continued the prosperity but allowed the United States to have exclusive use of Pearl Harbor. In 1881, he took a trip around the world to encourage the immigration of contract sugar plantation workers. Kalākaua wanted Hawaiians to broaden their education beyond their nation. He instituted a government-financed program to sponsor qualified students to be sent abroad to further their education. Two of Kalākaua’s projects, the statue of Kamehameha I and the rebuilding of ʻIolani Palace, were expensive endeavors but are popular tourist attractions today.

Extravagant expenditures and his plans for a Polynesian confederation played into the hands of annexationists who were already working towards a United States takeover of Hawaiʻi. In 1887, he was pressured to sign a new constitution that made the monarchy little more than a figurehead position. He had faith in his sister Liliʻuokalani’s abilities to rule as regent when he named her as his heir-apparent following the death of their brother, William Pitt Leleiohoku II, in 1877. After his death, she became the last monarch of Hawaiʻi.

Hawaii is a U.S. state located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only state outside North America, the only island state, and the only state in the tropics. Hawaii is also one of a handful of U.S. states to have once been an independent nation.

Hawaii encompasses nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago, composed of 137 volcanic islands spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), which are physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. The state’s ocean coastline is consequently the fourth longest in the U.S., at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is named; it is often called the “Big Island” or “Hawaii Island” to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest protected area in the U.S. and the third largest in the world.

Settled by Polynesians some time between 124 and 1120, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to discover the archipelago in 1778; early British influence is reflected in the design of the state flag. An influx of explorers, traders, and whalers arrived shortly thereafter, introducing diseases that decimated the once-isolated indigenous community. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until Western businessmen overthrew the monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory, Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America’s decisive entry into World War II. Hawaii became the most recent state to join the union on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii’s government, which spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

Of the fifty U.S. states, Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in area and the 11th-least populous, but with 1.4 million residents is the 13th-most densely populated. Two-thirds of the population lives on the island of O’ahu, home to the state’s capital and largest city, Honolulu. Hawaii is among the most diverse states in the country, owing to its central location in the Pacific and over two centuries of migration; it has the nation’s only Asian American majority, largest Buddhist community, and largest proportion of multiracial people. Consequently, the state is a unique melting pot of Southeast Asian, East Asian and North American cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian culture.

Historically dominated by a plantation economy, Hawaii remains a major agricultural exporter due to its fertile soil and uniquely tropical climate in the U.S. Its economy has gradually diversified since the mid 20th century, with tourism and military defense becoming the two largest sectors. The state attracts tourists, surfers, and scientists from around the world with its diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches, oceanic surroundings, active volcanoes, and clear skies on the Big Island. Hawaii hosts the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the largest naval command in the world, as well as 75,000 employees of the Defense Department.

Although its relative isolation results in one of the nation’s highest costs of living, Hawaii ranks as the third wealthiest state in the U.S.; Honolulu ranks high in several world livability rankings, ranking 22nd out of 140 cities worldwide in the 2019 Global Liveability Index, the highest of any American city.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km²), the United States is the world’s third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe’s 3.9 million square miles (10.1 million km²). With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York. Forty-eight states and the capital’s federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery. By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country’s status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 Moon landing. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower.

The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy, “in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law”. The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), and other international organizations. The United States is a highly developed country, with the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP. The U.S. economy is largely post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world’s largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U.S. holds 33% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. It also suffers from growing levels of income inequality and wealth inequality.

The United States ranks among the highest nations in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including human development, per capita GDP, and productivity per person. The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.