Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar

Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar
United States
Value	50 cents (0.50 US dollars)
Mass	12.5 g
Diameter	30.61 mm (1.20 in)
Thickness	2.15 mm (0.08 in)
Edge	Reeded
Composition	90.0% silver; 10.0% copper;
Silver	0.36169 troy oz
Years of minting	1928
Mintage	10,008 including 8 pieces for the Assay Commission
Mint marks	None, all pieces struck at Philadelphia Mint without mint mark
Obverse
Design	Captain James Cook
Designer	Chester Beach, based on sketches by Juliette May Fraser
Design date	1928
Reverse
Design	A Hawaiian chieftain with extended arm; Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head in background
Designer	Chester Beach, based on sketches by Juliette May Fraser
Design date	1928

The Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar was struck in 1928 by the United States Bureau of the Mint in honor of the 150th anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing in Hawaii, the first European to reach there. The coin depicts Captain Cook on the obverse and a Hawaiian chieftain on the reverse. Only 10,000 were struck for the public, making the coin rare and valuable.

In 1927, the legislature of the Territory of Hawaii passed a resolution calling on the U.S. government to produce a commemorative coin for the 150th anniversary of Cook's arrival in Hawaii. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon thought the occasion important enough that, unusually for him, he did not oppose such an issue. The bill for the Hawaii half dollar passed through Congress without opposition or amendment, and became the Act of March 7, 1928 with the signature of President Calvin Coolidge.

Sculptor Chester Beach made the plaster models for the coins from sketches by Juliette May Fraser. Beach had some trouble gaining approval for his designs, as there were issues raised by the Mint and by Victor Stewart Kaleoaloha Houston, Hawaii Territory's delegate to Congress. These concerns were eventually addressed, and the coin went into production. Although the issue price, at $2, was the highest for a commemorative half dollar to that point, the coins sold out quickly and have risen in value to over a thousand dollars.