1847 Hawaii Cent
ANACS EF details
CR 4
18 Berries
Authorized by Kamehameha III as the Kingdom of Hawai‘i sought a stable, modern currency, the 1847 cent stands as one of the most fascinating contract issues of the 19th century. Lacking a native mint, the kingdom commissioned 100,000 copper cents from a U.S. private minting firm for exactly $1,000, a straightforward one‑cent‑per‑cent arrangement that produced anything but a straightforward coin. The engraver, working from imperfect Hawaiian text, famously misunderstood the denomination request and instead engraved KA MOI (“The King”) beneath the portrait, leaving the coin without an English‑language value. The reverse, with its Hawaiian‑language Hapa Haneri inscription and hand‑cut wreath, supplied the missing denomination and created the berry‑count varieties collectors prize today.
The shipment itself became part of the lore. Packed in barrels and routed through a long, multi‑stop Pacific voyage, the coins spent weeks in damp holds exposed to saltwater intrusion, condensation, and tropical humidity. Contemporary Hawaiian records note that many arrived already corroded, giving rise to the “red money” reputation that made the cents unpopular in commerce.
According to NGC "Only 100,000 Hawaii cents were minted and later about 88,000 of these were melted down. Of the remaining 12,000 or so, many were discarded or thrown into the sea as this was never a popular issue. There are six different varieties - two different obverses (a plain 4 and a crosslet 4, in the 1847 date) and five different reverses (number of berries in wreaths: 13, 15 - 2 types, 17 and 18).
The distribution of the types is very skewed. About 73% of the Hawaii cent population is a crosslet 4, 15 berries type; 17% plain 4, 13 berries type; and the four others about 2.5% each. These latter four types are very scarce and almost impossible to find in uncirculated condition".
Very rare opportunity!