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July 6th 2004. Hawaiian Money (Part I of a series).
Two stamps were issued on July 6th 2004 depicting Hawaiian Money. Money in Hawai'i has a very colorful history and this is the first in a series of stamps depicting this theme.
Hawaiian paper money began with scrip. The earliest known scrip was printed for Ladd & Company, a sugar plantation near Koloa on the island of Kaua'i. The plantation began in 1835 on almost a 1,000 acres of land leased from King Kamehameha III. In 1837 the owners, Brinsmade, Ladd & Hooper decided to issue scrip to pay their workers. The scrip was redeemable at the company store in Koloa. The original scrip was small and crudely printed in Honolulu on old amateur theater tickets. It came in 3 denominations - Hapawalu (12.5 cents), Hapaha (25 cents) and Hapalua (50 cents). A plantation worker's pay for one day was food (usually fish and poi) and a Hapawalu scrip. Only 2 of the Hapawalu scrip have survived today, but none of the others.
In 1839, a much improved scrip was printed by the Boston Bank Note Company in Boston, Massachusetts. It was in two denominations, $3 and $5, both printed in dark brown ink on off-white paper with a blank reverse side. However, it is not known if the $3 scrip was ever circulated, since the very few copies that have survived are not signed and only surfaced recently, meaning they were probably held in bank vaults or archives for many years. The $5 scrip is known to have been widely used at Koloa and the surviving copies are signed and unsigned.
The Ladd & Company scrip was in circulation for about 5 years until November 1844, when the plantation went bankrupt. The Kingdom of Hawai'i seized all their assets, putting them on sale to settle the land lease payments owed to them. About $2,000 worth of this scrip was outstanding at the time of the bankruptcy.
The $5 stamp prepays the Overnight rate. It shows the $3 scrip (Ekolu Kala) which depicts 6 sailing ships in the upper center, and 2 sailing ships at the lower left. At the right side is an eagle and shield printed sideways. The numeral "3" is in the upper left hand corner and is depicted on the postmark for this issue (below).
The $8 stamp prepays the Same Day rate. It shows the $5 scrip (Elima Kala) which has a whaling scene in the upper center, and a sailor leaning on an anchor, middle right. The numeral "5" is in the upper middle left hand corner, and also in the upper right hand corner and lower right hand corner.
At the bottom center, both scrip are inscribed in Hawaiian "Ke olelo na mea nana i kakuiana inoa malalo eho, e haawi aku lakou. i ka mea nana mai ikeia palapala, i na KALA EKOLU (on the $3 scrip, or KALA ELIMA on the $5 scrip) iloko oka waiwai mak ko lakou hale kuai i KOLOA"
Translated this means "The person who signed this note below states that they will give to the person who reads this note the sum of $3 (or $5) out of their Kaua'i store in Koloa."
| .A special thanks to Don Medcalf of Hawaiian Island Stamp & Coin in Honolulu for his help in researching this issue. |
WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS ON ALL ORDERS
Technical details of the stamps:
Colors: $5 & $8 stamps - Multicolored
Size: 32mm x 48mm.
Stamps sheet size: 30 (6 across, 5 down).
Perforation: 12.
Stamp design: Enelani.
Layout & Pre-press: Enelani.
Printer: Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Printing Method: 4-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) printing process.
Sheet margin markings: HAWAI'I POST (top middle), "Traffic Light" showing 4 colors used in printing (lower left side), © 2004 Hawai'i Post (lower right side) & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. (bottom middle)
Paper: GPA coated white stock with water-activated gum on the back.
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