1 Cent - Kamehameha III

Hawaii's first official coinage, authorized under Kamehameha III as the islands' economy increasingly demanded a local circulating medium beyond barter and foreign specie. The coins were struck in Boston by the firm of Haseltine and Ryder, a private contractor — the Kingdom had no mint of its own and never would. Mintage reached 100,000 pieces, but a significant portion was reportedly rejected by the local population, who preferred the familiar foreign coins already in circulation.

Many unsold examples were later melted or dumped, which explains why circulated survivors outnumber uncirculated ones by a wide margin — the worn pieces actually got used.