1884 Hawaii "Coinage" ...does anyone know the story?
U1chicago
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Tonight an "1884" Fantasy Hawaii Quarter sold on GC for $1,880.85. The PCGS label mentions it is brass.
I found a copper nickel that sold at Stacks and HA a few years back as well.
Does anyone know anything about these?
I found one thread (linked below) but no one seemed to have the answer. The best guess was these might have been made for the 1893 Columbian Expo (souvenirs to sell?).
GC listing:
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1599837/1884-Hawaii-Quarter-Fantasy-Strike-Brass-PCGS-MS-63
Stacks tells us the following:
Blushes of sandy-gold enliven otherwise silver-gray surfaces on both sides of this lustrous, satiny example. Fully struck with razor sharp detail from the rims to the centers. A curious and presumably rare fantasy striking of the Kingdom of Hawaii "quarter dollar," featuring the anomalous date 1884 but with basically the same design as the regular issue of 1883.
And Heritage gives us the possibility they were made for King Farouk:
Copper-nickel. Reeded edge. Several very rare 1884-dated Hawaiian private issues are known. They bear the designs and denominations of 1883 Hawaii coinage, but have weights and alloys that don't conform to the issues they imitate. They are purported to have been made for King Farouk by enterprising coin dealers. Indeed, lots 2064 and 2065 of Sotheby's 1954 Palace Collection auction catalog describe 1884-dated Hawaii quarters and half dollars. This is a well struck and satiny example with light peach and tan toning. The obverse field exhibits minor marks
Comments
I would interpret this to mean "Part of the evidence that these were concoctions specifically made for sale to Farouk, is that Farouk's collection had some".
I suppose the question then becomes, "Is there any evidence for their existence prior to about 1920?". If there definitely is, then the Farouk theory can be dismissed.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
Agreed. Unusual delicacies tend to attract themselves to collectors like Farouk, no matter how, when or why they were made.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/coins-of-hawaii/1884-1-2d-hawaii-fantasy-strike-hub-impression-1673g-ag-ms65-pcgs-pcgs-683479-/a/1337-3267.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515
https://coins.ha.com/itm/coins-of-hawaii/1884-1-8d-hawaii-fantasy-strike-hub-impression-75g-ms66-pcgs/a/1337-3445.s
Don Medcalf notes that "The hubs are impounded in the Philadelphia Mint" but then also states "A set of hub impressions exist". It sounds like the U.S. Mint shenanigans had no respect for territorial boundaries.
See this new thread I just started:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1105106/1884-dated-hawaiian-fantasy-coinage/p1?new=1