A rare 1895 Huth Hawaiian Dollar will be placed under the auction hammer at Heritage's Central States Signature Auction, held in Milwaukee May 5-8. Heritage is the official auctioneer of the Central States Numismatic Society. Struck in silver with a diameter identical to that of a contemporary Morgan dollar, the piece is encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as PR63. The obverse features a bust of Princess Kaiulani along with four dolphins in the nearby field. The reverse depicts a globe focused on the Hawaiian Islands, and bears the date Oct. 16, 1893, which was the eighteenth birthday of the Princess. Kingdom of Hawaii specialists will recognize it as variety MH-5 (Hawaiian Money Standard Catalog, Second Edition, Donald Medcalf and Ronald Russell, 1990) or XM4 (Unusual World Coins, Third Edition, Colin R. Bruce II, 1992). Technically neither silver dollars nor patterns, the 1895 Huth Dollars are nonetheless coveted by Hawaiian specialists. According to Medcalf, "They are extremely popular and seldom offered for sale." These fascinating, high quality medals were struck by Messrs. Pinches & Co. of London, England. They were made to order for Reginald Huth, a wealthy English numismatist and royalist who made similar unofficial pieces for Spain, Madagascar, and England. Princess Kaiulani (1875-1899), whose full name was Victoria Kawekiu Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kaiulani, was the final heir to the Hawaiian throne. Her visit to President Grover Cleveland is credited with his decision to deny annexing the Hawaiian Islands, although President McKinley made Hawaii a republic in 1898, ending the monarchy. The Heritage Central States specimen is exquisitely struck and has lovely original golden-brown, rose, and sky-blue patina. The fields are fully reflective. Other varieties of the 1895 Huth Dollars feature Queen Liliuokalani (MH-1 and 2), or depict Kaiulani with only a single dolphin below the portrait (MH-3). According to Medcalf, fifty pieces were struck in silver, and this mintage represented both the one dolphin and four dolphin types. In addition to the silver strikings, extremely rare trial pieces are known struck in gold, copper, iron, and tin. Bids are now being accepted for this and all other coins in the Heritage Central States Signature Auction at www.heritagecoins.com.

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The quarter is encapsulated as MS67 by NGC and is the only example certified above MS64. NGC and PCGS combined have certified only four other pieces in AU and finer grades. Although 48,000 pieces were struck, survivors in any condition are seldom seen. Silver coins were not collected by mintmark until late in the 19th century. In his 1991 reference The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Quarters, Larry Briggs lists the date as High R.4 in all grades, R.6 in XF/AU, and R.7 in Mint State.

This Superb Gem rare date quarter possesses light silver-gray patina and booming cartwheel luster. It is well struck aside from slight softness on the final three stars, and the surfaces are virtually immaculate. The die state conforms to the description for Briggs 1-A, with faint die cracks above the 1 in the date and from the wing below the RI in AMERICA.

The piece is pedigreed to James A. Stack, who formed a formidable and virtually complete collection of U.S. coins. Its first known auction appearance was as lot 122 in Stack's March 1975 sale of James. A. Stack's quarters and half dollars. The rare coin surfaced again in the New England Rare Coin Fund I Sale of April 1980, and returned to the auction floor for Paramount's July 1986 session of Auction '86, as lot 1619. Since that time, it has reposed in the collection of the consignor, who wishes to remain anonymous.

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Life is full of change. Visitors to our nation's capital - and especially numismatists - have long known that the public tours of the D.C. Bureau of Engraving and Printing plant (just off the Mall) have been very interesting but marked by incredibly long lines (when open), and with tourist facilities that even enthusiastically could only be described as an afterthought. Collectors of paper money know that the new Forth Worth production facility of the Treasury's BEP produces more than 50% of America's currency. Numismatists in the Dallas-Fort Worth have known for a decade that it was impossible to get into the BEP's Forth Worth plant. And of course, virtually all Americans know what a $50 note looks like. Well, much of this is changing, and all for the better if you are a collector.

Last Monday, April 26, Northern Texas dignitaries, bankers, museum officials, tourism officials, and a handful of numismatists joined high-ranking government officials at the BEP in Forth Worth to celebrate the unveiling of the newly designed $50, and the opening of the BEP's new Western Currency Facility Visitor Center. I'll say a few words about each topic, with longer remarks to follow in an article in Paper Money, the journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors. I had the privilege of consulting with the BEP during the earliest stages of the Visitor's Center, and it was an especially proud moment to see many of my suggestions come to fruition.

Among the speakers were John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury; Thomas Ferguson, Director of the BEP; Danny Spriggs, Deputy Director of the Secret Service; and Mark Olson, Board Member of the Federal Reserve System. In addition to the expected congratulatory remarks were some very interesting nuggets of information. Collectors will be intrigued to know that the BEP is planning new designs of all currency every five-to-seven years to combat the increasingly sophisticated threats of counterfeiting. When that was announced, I saw ANA President Gary Lewis reaching for his pen to start taking notes! The land and construction of the BEP plant was a gift to the Treasury from the city of Fort Worth, in exchange for the 650 skilled jobs brought to the region. It sits on a wind-swept plain, and the gusts were sufficient to give many of us a sneak peek at the $50 behind the curtains during the outdoor ceremony.

Afterwards, we toured the Western Currency Facility Visitor Center, and I hooked up with Mike Grant of Arlington Coins, and Gary Hill (Co-Bourse chairman of the Texas Numismatic Association). Mike and Gary participated in one of the early design focus groups held by the designers, and represented the interests of collectors well. I saw Jerry Williams in front of me during the tour, but the past President of the TNA was so interested in seeing the 'next step' in production that I never could catch up with him. They were printing the new $50s during our tour, but we learned that their release is not anticipated until around October, and all the Series 2004 we saw heading for storage may be destroyed. All efforts to obtain samples met with the expected response. Mike and I did a full court press on Dennis Gruabe, the Spider press operator, who was equally unyielding. All visitors will have to be content with the large souvenir shop, which stocks all of the sheets available and plenty of other numismatic items.

The tour itself is a wonderful introduction to the production process, and there is something to learn whatever your level of sophistication. Kids (and most adults) may be most fascinated watching one of the skilled employees trying to sort out damaged money; we watched several thousand dollars eaten by termites -- a real mess - being patiently reconstructed. And you think you have a tedious job?

One word of warning to collectors. As is the case with many modern museum exhibits, the Visitor Center has many graphics and photographic enlargements, but very few notes (of any age or design) on display. This is not a museum of paper money, so don't go searching for Refunding Certificates or obscure Nationals. It is a fabulous display of modern production set in a historical context. You will enjoy yourself, but there is little need for your pocket magnifier.

If you are interested in touring the Western Currency Facility Visitor Center, I suggest that you contact them first, and as soon as possible. They are already booked months in advance, and those who show up without appointment may have to wait to tag along with a scheduled tour:
9000 Blue Mound Road
Fort Worth Texas 76131
817-231-4000
866-865-1194

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Average Circulated: A coin that has received a typical amount of circulation for the type or date. The actual grade of an average circulated coin can vary greatly, but if you go to a local coin shop and see a box full of similar coins at an inexpensive price, you can bet that the coins would be considered average circulated.

Trime: A silver three cent piece. Walter Breen credits Mint Director James Ross Snowden with coining this term, pun not intended; the coins were contemporarily referred to as Fish Scales. To continue the previous definition, an Average Circulated trime of most early dates would probably be both well worn and bent due both to wear and to use as an improvised screwdriver during the Civil War.

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