Obscure Gold Medal from Hawaii

DrDarryl

The 9/09 Hawaii Collection from September 7, 2009 that was auctioned by Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers is treasured numismatic reference for collectors of Hawaii numismatic items. Page 66 & 67 lists the 1980 Hawaii Gold Medal, 32mm, 1 oz. of .999 gold. https://issuu.com/goldbergcoins/docs/hawaii

The issue I have is that this medal was not listed in the 1991 published book titled, Hawaiian Money: Standard Catalog "Second Edition", authored by Donald Medcalf and Ronald Russell. This is the "guidebook" for Hawaii numismatics. As a result, this gold medal remained in a deep state of obscurity.

I've been searching for information relating to this medal for a few years now and stumbled onto tidbits of information. Example of a press release from a numismatic publication. There are silver and bronze versions of the medals as sold on various auction sites.

Then I recently struck gold, pun intended. Mr. Reeser, former president of Precious Metals Hawaii, designer and manufacturer of the medals happened to list a silver set of the Hawaiian Monarchs on the bay. We exchanged emails and he divulge some details relating to this series of medals. He provided me with a signed letter with previously unknown numismatic and special information relating to the series. I'm in the process of drafting an article. Here are some key information.

1) A fire destroyed the original dies. Mintages in the press release was planned and not actual.
2) Mintages of the gold, silver, and bronze was provided to me.
3) Only 3 of the 8 Hawaii monarchs was struck in gold.
4) The 1980 Hawaii Gold medals (King Kamehameha I) in the 9/09 Hawaii Collection has a mintage of 9. The first struck was donated to the Bishop Museum located on the island of Oahu.
5) Surprisingly the bronze medals have a lower mintage then the silver medals.

Treashunt

Neat item, nice write up,
Thanks for posting

Zoins

I did a Google search for Gregory Reeser and found an article with some info:

https://thehawaiiananumismatist.com/

I recently purchased a silver set and bronze set of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series from Gregory Reeser. Mr. Reeser was the designer of these medals. Mr. Reeser was also the owner of Precious Medals Hawaii. He has since retired on the mainland. Each medal that I purchased is housed in cardboard folder. Mr. Reeser has shared with me the mintage of the gold, silver and bronze issues of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series. I am writing an paper on this series from 1980. I also own a silver set housed in a special holder.

Zoins

There seem to be quite a few issuers of modern Hawaii medals. Is there a comprehensive list?

ricko

Interesting article... I do not know much about Hawaiian coins or medals. But the article mentioned a Queen Kaluiokalani. When I was in the Navy, I had a buddy, Hawaiian, whose last name was Kaluiokalani. He never mentioned royalty in his background. Cheers, RickO

DrDarryl

I'm still finding new information about these medals. After reviewing the 8 piece medal sets in individual folders, I noticed that the first few are in "coin orientation", then they switch to "medal orientation". I believe that the manufacturer switched to a "medal orientation" to allow the reverse design be viewed properly when opening the folder (from right to left). For those in "coin orientation", one must flip the folder (upside down) to no see the design right side up, however, the written text on the folder is now upside down. It can be said that the "coin orientation" population is less that the "medal orientation" population.

DrDarryl

@Zoins said:
I did a Google search for Gregory Reeser and found an article with some info:

https://thehawaiiananumismatist.com/

I recently purchased a silver set and bronze set of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series from Gregory Reeser. Mr. Reeser was the designer of these medals. Mr. Reeser was also the owner of Precious Medals Hawaii. He has since retired on the mainland. Each medal that I purchased is housed in cardboard folder. Mr. Reeser has shared with me the mintage of the gold, silver and bronze issues of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series. I am writing an paper on this series from 1980. I also own a silver set housed in a special holder.

FYI - I am the Hawaiiana Numismatist (that is my website).

DrDarryl

@DrDarryl said...

This press release came from the ANA's publication, The Numismatist.

Zoins

@DrDarryl said:

@Zoins said:
I did a Google search for Gregory Reeser and found an article with some info:

https://thehawaiiananumismatist.com/

I recently purchased a silver set and bronze set of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series from Gregory Reeser. Mr. Reeser was the designer of these medals. Mr. Reeser was also the owner of Precious Medals Hawaii. He has since retired on the mainland. Each medal that I purchased is housed in cardboard folder. Mr. Reeser has shared with me the mintage of the gold, silver and bronze issues of the Hawaiian Monarchy Series. I am writing an paper on this series from 1980. I also own a silver set housed in a special holder.

FYI - I am the Hawaiiana Numismatist (that is my website).

Wow! That's awesome! That looks like a great resource!

All your Ike pieces had me thinking of you as the Presidential Numismatist so far!

Zoins

@DrDarryl said:

@DrDarryl said...

This press release came from the ANA's publication, The Numismatist.

Very cool, but why is there a big X on the image?

DrDarryl

@Zoins said:

@DrDarryl said:

Very cool, but why is there a big X on the image?

The ANA library charges a fee for making copies (years ago). Notice the curving on the left side. I placed the X when I share it.

Zoins

@DrDarryl said:

@Zoins said:

@DrDarryl said:

Very cool, but why is there a big X on the image?

The ANA library charges a fee for making copies (years ago). Notice the curving on the left side. I placed the X when I share it.

Good to know. Another reason to love the ANA!

Imagine if numismatic publishers required the ANA to add an X when they share published material? It could make things easier so people don’t have to add the X themselves!