The Meaning of the Hawaii State Coin Design

The U.S. Mint has been issuing state coins in the order in which states have entered into the Union since 1999 and bear the date of that state's admission into the Union. The commemorative coin for Hawai'i bears the date 1959, when it first became admitted as the 50th state.

On the right-hand side of the coin is a depiction of King Kamehameha the First. Underneath his outstretched arm is the island chain that comprises the state of Hawai'i. Below the map of the island archipelago is the state motto in the Hawaiian language.

Hawai'i is the only state with two official languages, Hawaiian and English. The state motto is "Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka 'Aina I Ka Pono", which translates as, "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness." Words which were spoken on July 31, 1843, the day Hawai'i was restored back to the Hawaiian sovereignty by Queen Victoria after five months from an illicit British expulsion.

The coin's depiction of Kamehameha is that of the statue of King Kamehameha which stands in Honolulu. Kamehameha the Great unified the Kingdom of Hawai'i in 1810 and his statue stands across the street from the royal palace 'Iolani Palace of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Islands.

Queen Lili'uokalani was deposed in a bloodless coup to Sanford B. Dole on Jan 17, 1893. Lili'uokalani anticipated the restoration by the United States as in the earlier case with the British restoration in 1843. "A queen to the end to her people, Lili`uokalani died in 1917, her plea for justice unanswered." [Hawai'i State Archives]

The United States issued an "Apology Resolution" to Native Hawaiians on November 23, 1993 for the illegal overthrow of a recognized sovereignty in which at the time of the overthrow, the United State had complete and full diplomatic relations with.

Hawai'i government officials are preparing for protesters to be at the 50th state of Admissions Day in 2009. Native Hawaiian University of Hawai'i professor, Haunani-Kay Trask has opined, "It's celebrating a tragedy that befell the Hawaiian people, which was the overthrow and annexation." [honoluluadvertiser]

Others feel that American citizenship is to be highly cherished and take offense of the administrative downplaying the celebration due to trepidation of a ugly protest.