1883 Hawaiian Dollar - 1883/1383 Overdate

Coin Details

Description

The 1883/1383 Hawaiian Quarter Dollar is one of the most fascinating overdates in all of numismatics, though calling it a true overdate is somewhat misleading. During the production of King Kalakaua's coinage at the San Francisco Mint in 1883, a reverse die was prepared with a blundered date reading 1383 instead of 1883. Rather than discard the die, Mint workers corrected the error by re-engraving the 1 over the erroneous 1 in the hundreds position, though traces of the original 3 remain visible beneath. This variety was struck as part of the Hawaiian Kingdom coinage authorized by Kalakaua I, who contracted with Claus Spreckels and the San Francisco Mint to produce a complete silver coinage series. The entire Hawaiian coinage program produced approximately 500,000 dimes, 500,000 quarters, 700,000 half dollars, and 500,000 dollars, all dated 1883 and struck in.900 fine silver to match U.S. coinage standards. The overdate is most easily detected under low magnification on the reverse date, where the top curve of the underlying 3 protrudes above and below the corrected 1 in the hundreds place. The variety was first cataloged by Medcalf and Russell in their definitive Hawaiian reference work.

Rarity Notes

Scarce variety. Most examples grade VF to AU, as the overdate was not widely recognized during circulation. PCGS and NGC both attribute this variety, with approximately 100-200 examples confirmed across all grades.

Cross References

Medcalf-Russell 2CS-5; PCGS #245404