Coins of the Hawaiian dollar

In 1847, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, under the reign of King Kamehaheha III, issued its first official coinage—a large one-cent copper penny—to alleviate the chronic shortage of small denomination coins circulating in the Hawaiian Islands. The next and last official coinage of the Hawaiian Islands was minted in 1883, by King Kalākaua I; however during the intervening period, the changing needs of the Hawaiian Islands were met by circulating private-issued tokens and the coins of the United States of America.

The following is a list of known coins and tokens issued by the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and various business concerns during the period of 1847 through 1891. The referenced catalog numbers used in this article are from the book, Hawaiian Money: Standard Catalog: Second Edition, 1991 by Donald Medcalf and Ronald Russell.

Keneta
The ill-fated Keneta was commissioned by King Kamehameha III. Coined money was in great demand in the Hawaiian Islands and was in continual shortage in the early nineteenth century. In response, King Kamehameha III devoted Chapter 4, Section 1 of the legal code of 1846 to the monetary system of the kingdom, tying it directly to that of the United States, thus normalizing the rate of transaction of small change in the islands and their corresponding values to United States money. Anticipating growing coined money needs, the legal code also outlined future Hawaiian coin designs.

Of the first coins decided to be acted upon was the Keneta - a copper coin valued at one cent of a U.S. dollar. As the Hawaiian Treasury was in shortage of funds during this period, the copper cent was seen as an initial "affordable" issue to be followed by other denominations at a later date. James Jackson Jarves, acting as agent for the Hawaiian Government, placed an order for 100,000 of these coins in 1846. He contracted Edward Hulseman - best known for his 1837 Half Cent token – to design and engrave the coin. It is not known precisely where the pieces were minted – although Walter Breen in Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins asserts that they were produced at the private mint of H. M. & E. I. Richards of Attleboro, Massachusetts; regardless, Jarves was given a note dated January 14, 1847 in the amount of $869.56 by the Minister of Finance as payment for the order.

...
Wikipedia