Oct 14, 2008 12:00 pm US/Mountain
Hawaii, Final State Quarter, Struck At Denver Mint
P. Solomon Banda, AP Writer
DENVER (AP) ―
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle led a delegation to the Denver Mint for the striking of the first of that state's commemorative quarters -- and the last in a 10-year series commemorating the 50 states.
Hawaii's coin features monarch King Kamehameha (kuh-may-ha-may-ha) I stretching a hand toward the eight major Hawaiian Islands. Inscribed is the state motto, "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness," in the Hawaiian language. It will go into circulation Nov. 3.
"It's our vision for Hawaii's future and it shows our respect for all the land," Lingle said of the quarter's design and motto. "And it also shows that although there are many islands, we're united as a state."
Delegation members, including Lingle, state dignitaries and coin collectors, lined up to push a button on a stamp press that spit out individual quarters. Many had their picture taken while flashing the shaka, a common gesture of greeting in Hawaii that is sometimes referred to the "hang loose" sign.
For coin collector Rock Villaruel, a guest of design commission member Gregory Hunt, Tuesday's event fulfilled a boyhood dream. Villaruel bought his first collecting magazine after becoming interested in coins at age 12. A trip to San Francisco's historic mint years ago ended in disappointment. It was boarded up.
"This is my first time visiting a mint, and it's about time," the 48-year-old Villaruel said.
Kamehameha, who ruled in the early 1800s and unified the islands, was picked in favor of designs that featured a hula dancer, Diamondhead on the main island of Oahu, and a surfer modeled after a young Duke Kahanamoku. For Hunt, the chosen coin is about reminding people that Hawaii is part of America.
"Sometimes people forget that we are part of the United States," Hunt said. "Visitors to the islands say, `You know, back in the states,' and we remind them, `You mean, back on the mainland."'
Lingle said Hawaii's coin will be very popular with coin collectors because it's the last of the state coins. The first, Delaware's, was released in 1999.
"And it's a coincidence, but it's coming up on our 50th anniversary as a state, we're the 50th state and the 50th quarter," said Lauren Kamei, a freshman at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who served on the commission.
More than 34 billion of the state commemorative quarters have been produced. They were released at 10-week intervals in the order the states were admitted into the Union.
The coins have been snapped up by roughly 147 million collectors in the U.S., bringing in $3.5 billion in profit by the end of last year, excluding special-issue sets. The coins are also produced in Philadelphia.
Mint officials expect about 520 million of the Hawaii quarter to be produced.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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