Question: Where can I get the Hawaii quarters? I went to the bank, but they didn’t have them and couldn’t tell me where to get them.
Answer: Contact a reputable, local coin dealer, to whom you might expect to pay about $1 per coin. We called three Oahu companies and found one with them in stock at that price (details below).
The U.S. Mint issued the Hawaii quarter in 2008 as the last in its “50 State Quarters” series and the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Quarter in 2012 as the 14th coin in its “America the Beautiful Quarters” series.
The Mint used to sell them directly, including from its website, but no longer does, according to a representative who advised us to check instead with reputable, local coin dealers.
The Hawaii quarter features King Kamehameha I stretching his hand toward the eight major Hawaiian Islands, according to the Mint’s website, usmint.gov. The state motto also is inscribed: “Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono,” which means “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Quarter shows “Mount Kilauea erupting, shooting smoke and ash and cinders into the air while oozing fiery hot lava,” according to the Mint’s description.
The obverse side of each coin carries the familiar image of George Washington, which has been used on the U.S. quarter since 1932.
We called three Oahu coin dealers Monday, and only one had both coins in stock: Hawaiian Islands Stamp and Coin, at 1111 Bishop St., Suite 105. (There are more than three coin dealers on Oahu, but we stopped calling once we found a dealer with the coins you wanted for sale).
Cupronickel-clad versions of the Hawaii and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park quarters sell for $1 each, said Lori Penitani, a manager and member of the family that owns Hawaiian Islands Stamp and Coin. This is the most common type for each coin, composed of 8.33 percent nickel and 91.67 copper, according to the U.S. Mint.
The company also sells the Hawaii quarter made with silver, for $15 each, “because silver is more valuable” than copper or nickel, she said.
Penitani said the company had plenty of the cheaper coins in stock. “People come in every day. They’re very popular,” she said.
Vince Vento of Alii Coins and Currency in Kaneohe did not have any of the cupronickel-clad Hawaii or Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park quarters in stock, but said that if he did he also would sell them for about $1 each, or $15 to $20 for a $10 roll. “About a dollar for a 25-cent item is fair because of the cost of acquiring, storage, etc.,” he said.
You mentioned going to a bank hoping to obtain these coins. However, Vento noted that “a bank’s mission involves circulating currency; they’re not there to help people collect,” which involves identifying, sorting and inventorying collectible currency among the vast amount of common bills and coins.
We recalled Hawaii banks selling the quarters at face value when they were first issued, but not for years after the initial run. Stafford Kiguchi, a spokesman for the Bank of Hawaii, concurred.
“We had a supply when the quarters were introduced, and they were very popular but we do not inventory new quarters any longer,” he said.
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