1882 Hawaiian Plantation Token - Haiku, One Rial

Coin Details

Auction Record

$7,187 MS64 02-01-2009 Superior Galleries

Description

The Haiku Sugar Company one-rial token of 1882 represents one of the smaller and more remote Maui plantations that adopted scrip currency. Haiku Plantation, located on the windward side of Maui near the town of Haiku, began sugar production in the 1850s and grew to become an important part of the Alexander and Baldwin agricultural empire. The plantation's location on the wet, verdant slopes below Haleakala volcano provided ideal growing conditions for sugar cane but also placed it far from Honolulu's commercial center, making adequate coinage supply a persistent challenge. The one-rial copper token, struck at 22mm diameter, served as the primary medium of exchange at the Haiku plantation store. Like the Wailuku tokens, Haiku adopted the Spanish real denomination system, with one rial equaling 12.5 cents. The 1882 date places this token just one year before the Hawaiian Kingdom issued its own official coinage under King Kalakaua, which partially alleviated the chronic coin shortage that had driven plantations to produce their own tokens. Despite the arrival of official Hawaiian coins in 1883, plantation tokens continued to circulate for years afterward as plantations maintained their store-based economies.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Haiku Plantation tokens are among the scarcer Hawaiian plantation issues due to the relatively small size of the operation. NGC-certified examples are particularly uncommon.

Cross References

PCGS #600518; NGC #765684; Medcalf-Russell Hawaiian Money; Rulau-Fuld Hawaii listings