Commems Collection Classic: 1928 Hawaiian Discovery Sesquicentennial, Bank Of Hawaii Auction

commems, great write-up, as usual. I really enjoy your writing style.

That's a nice looking coin and one I hope to add to my collection one day. It is interesting to speculate if your particular coin was part of the auction that you wrote about, commems. Would be pretty cool.

For those of you that don't know this, Captain Cook, while respected among the natives, came to his untimely and grisly end in Hawaii. He was murdered on the beach by locals after attempting to kidnap the king of Hawaii for ransom to get his stolen ship back. (There's more to it than that, of course, but that's the gist).

Glad to see you writing more of these. Another good read.

Thanks for the share! Even though $2 in the Great Depression era was about $27 worth of today's money (and even more so since money was very tight during that time period to come), I would have loved to see those when they were released! Great write up!

Interesting piece. I don't think that grades above 65 really existed back in 1986. Maybe some of the first few would grade above 65 by today's standards, but we'll likely never know.

My takeaway from this is how SOFT the commemorative market is. Imagine what gold you could buy for $2,000 in 1986!

Sadly, it seems like the market is focused on a few high grade rarities, and the market generally is pretty soft. A good lesson for those putative investors. You could turn you $2000 1986 dollars into... about $3000 in 30 years? Ouch.

I'd still love me a Gem Hawaiian half, though!

Fully agree and concur ... a financial investment in the classic silver commemorative series ... intended as an investment for price appreciation is likely a bad bet.

That said ... a personal knowledge investment to understand this tremendous and unique USA coinage series yields tremendous benefits ...

There is no other USA coinage series with such a variety of designs ... poor to exceptional ... and the stories behind each and every coin are magnificent ... should one take the time to study and learn them.

What commems does so well is the smooth written ability to bring the 'behind-the-scenes' story to life ... and as a dedicated collector of the series I truly value his sharing of knowledge.

I'm not worried about my MS 50-coin type set appreciating in price ... I'm enjoying the joy of holding in my hands some of the most tremendous and historical coins ever issued by the USA.

Hopeful that as a collector you will understand that joy.

David

As I often say, a coin collection is a better investment than investing in beer drinking, or various other things. Gambling also comes to mind. It is okay to have a hobby that costs money.

I would LOVE to have a Gem Hawaiian half dollar.

But I was trying to say, this is a good lesson for people who consider coin collecting as an alternative to long-term investing. It is not. And this article was a great example of why not.

Great write up on the one remaining open space in my type set. Still looking for one.

Interesting question, but one pertaining to a bit of fantasy or myth.

Most reputable historians do not believe Cook was eaten by natives on Hawaii, New Zealand or any other Pacific island. The native islanders in Hawaii did not practice cannibalism and Cook's body was not "shared" with inhabitants of other Pacific Ocean islands. His remains were buried at sea in Hawaii.