50 Dollars Certificate of Deposit

Hawaii's 1879–1880 Certificates of Deposit were not conventional banknotes — they were interest-bearing instruments, effectively short-term government paper backed by treasury funds rather than a bank of issue. The Kingdom had no central bank, and the Department of Finance filled that structural gap directly. American Bank Note Company supplied the printing, as it did for most Pacific and Caribbean governments that lacked domestic security printing facilities during this period.

Surviving examples are genuinely rare. The certificates were redeemable and most were surrendered and cancelled upon maturity, leaving few intact in any condition. Pick lists only three types for the entire Hawaiian Islands series.