Set Description
On August 21, 1959, Hawaii joined the United States of America its 50th State. The Official Hawaii Statehood medals were authorized by Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 12, adopted by the First Legislature of the State of Hawaii meeting in special session October 22, 1959.
These medals commemorate the entry of Hawaii as a new state into the Union. This was a historical event that has affected my upbringing as I lived through the transition from Territory of Hawaii to the State of Hawaii.
These medals were struck by Medallic Art Company (MACO) and nationally distributed by The Coin and Currency Institute Inc. of New York and California.
These medals are 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The bronze medal weights 126.9 grams. The sterling silver medal weighs 136.7 grams. The gold medal weighs 216.3 grams.
Set Goals
The purpose of this set is to be a numismatic reference for the 1959 Official Hawaii Statehood medals, as such, my goals are to:
1) Secure a 2M-2b (unlisted) specimen
2) Secure a 2MS-3 specimen
3) Advocate an errata sheet for Medcalf and Russell 1991, Hawaiian Money Standard Catalog, 2nd edition. There are many errors and deletions in this book. Error examples for the Official Hawaii Statehood medals:
a. Book indicates 19,700 bronze struck (MACO source indicates 29,599)
b. Book indicates 3,000 sterling silver struck (MACO source indicates 3,154)
c. Book indicates 50 gold struck (MACO source indicates 58 gold medals struck
All gold medals have Niihau spelled correctly.
d. Book brushes over the existence of a bronze "production set" (aka progression set). With only 30 known sets, this makes it rarer than the gold version. In addition, it increases the series by 4) more varieties (blank, strike 1, strike 2, strike 3). The differentiators are the flange (extra metal that is to be trimmed off later in the production process) and the bright bronze shine (to be oxidized for an antique finish in the final production process). See Source 3 reference.
e. Book fails to mention the "production set" contains 6 medals.
4) (COMPLETED) Proved my thesis of three strikings of the sterling silver medal:
1st striking - Niihau error (serial number 1 - 1043)
2nd striking - Niihau correction (serial number 1044-2500)
3rd striking - Niihau correction
(serial 2501-3000, Hawaii citizens advocated more silver medals to be struck)
(154 with no serial numbers, provided to Lieutenant Governor James K. Kealoha, should have its own catalog number assigned)
5) (COMPLETED) Identify of the lowest sterling silver medal's serial number where the Niihau spelling error was corrected.
#1044 is the actual marker for the lowest non-error medal. #1043 is the last Niihau spelling error.
Roughly 35% of the 3,000 struck are error. To put it into a better perspective, a little over 1/3 of the medals are the NII HAU error type.
Source:
1) http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n39a16.html
2) http://thehawaiiananumismatist.com/2013/11/29/update-official-hawaii-statehood-medal-in-silver-nii-hau-to-niihau-transition-serial-number/
3) http://thehawaiiananumismatist.com/2013/11/23/process-set-for-the-official-hawaii-statehood-medal-growing-flange/
Updated 09/20/2014