A Brief History of the Maui Trade Dollar Association.
Maui Trade Dollars first appeared in 1959 to commemorate the Territory of Hawaii’s impending statehood and were made of brilliantly imprinted brass. These earliest Maui Trade Dollars were good for one dollar in trade at participating Maui merchants or were redeemable at the Maui Chamber of Commerce until their expiration date in 1960. There were at least three separate mintings and oddly, two of the issues were minted with spelling errors.
The second group, dated 1973 – 1976 were struck in various metals including gold plate, sterling silver, and bronze. They depict Maui’s famous Iao Needle and o the verbage on some of the earliest and more valuable serial numbered issues refer to Lahaina as “Hawaii’s First Capitol.” The misspelling was later corrected to “Capital.”
After 1976 up to about the mid-1990’s another Maui Dollar was produced as a single coin. It was offered as part of a multi-island set but was a copy of the earlier series with the Maui Chamber of Commerce name and date removed.
The fourth and current series started in 1992. It is now the longest continuous running exonumia program in the United States.
Today’s Maui Dollars occur in three varieties: one troy ounce .999 pure silver; 22 karat gold-plated; and cupro-nickel alloy. All are 39mm in diameter. The silver and gold-plated types are individually serial numbered, packaged in a velvet display case and range in price from around $60 for gold-plated up to nearly $200 for some of the older silver proofs and sets. Now in its 26th consecutive year, Maui Dollars are slightly larger than the old traditional silver dollars and, while most are kept as souvenirs, mementos, or purchased as gifts, a few are still tendered at their $2.00 face value at participating Maui merchants. Maui Dollars are available at many of Maui’s best known attractions and select retail stores around the island. Maui Dollars are sold with a certificate of authenticity in a clear plastic cover at the discretion of the merchant.