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20 Dollars Certificate of Deposit
| Issuer | Department of Finance, Hawaiian Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879-1880 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York, United States |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS CERTIFIES THAT there have been deposited at the Hawaiian Treasury TWENTY DOLLARS IN SILVER COIN payable to the bearer ON DEMAND REGISTRAR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS MINISTER OF FINANCE AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. N.Y. IWAKALUA |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | HAWAIIAN TREASURY CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY NEW YORK |
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| Comments |
Hawaii's Certificates of Deposit were not conventional banknotes — they were issued by the Kingdom's Department of Finance as interest-bearing instruments, functioning closer to government bonds than circulating currency. The distinction mattered: they were legal tender for government dues but were not designed for everyday commerce, which keeps genuinely circulated examples rare.
The American Bank Note Company held the contract, printing in New York for a Pacific island government still formally a sovereign kingdom under Kalākaua, who had taken the throne in 1874. The P#2 designation places this among the earliest entries in Hawaiian paper money — very few series predate it.