Bernard von NotHaus founded the Royal Hawaiian Mint in 1974 and operated it as a private mint producing commemorative and bullion pieces for decades before his far more controversial project — the Liberty Dollar — drew federal prosecution in 2007. This Kalākaua issue predates that chapter entirely. King Kalākaua, who reigned from 1874 until his death in 1891, was the last Hawaiian monarch to authorize an official government coinage, making him a recurring subject for Hawaiian-themed private bullion.
Von NotHaus was convicted in 2011 under federal counterfeiting statutes, though the Royal Hawaiian Mint's earlier silver issues were never the target of that action.
Bernard von NotHaus founded the Royal Hawaiian Mint in 1974 and operated it as a private mint producing commemorative and bullion pieces for decades before his far more controversial project — the Liberty Dollar — drew federal prosecution in 2007. This Kalākaua issue predates that chapter entirely. King Kalākaua, who reigned from 1874 until his death in 1891, was the last Hawaiian monarch to authorize an official government coinage, making him a recurring subject for Hawaiian-themed private bullion.
Von NotHaus was convicted in 2011 under federal counterfeiting statutes, though the Royal Hawaiian Mint's earlier silver issues were never the target of that action.