Stamp Collecting with GS

Stamps of Hawaii - Hawaii's Royalty on Stamps

The Kingdom of Hawaii issued stamps from 1851 to 1892. Then after a coup, Hawaii's stamps bore the title "Republic of Hawaii." At first they were overprints (1893), then a new issue in '94.

Statue of King Kamehameha I #47

A small set of color changes for three issues came in 1899 when the United States annexed Hawaii, and after 1900 American stamp issues were used throughoug the postal system.

The first stamps of Hawaii are a small set of four called the "Missionaries," only because Christian missionaries used them on their letters back to their home offices in the United States. Though the designs are just numerals with fancy borders, these are the gems of philately, prices for which are in six-digits. Copies on cover can run into the millions.

Starting in 1853 the stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii portray the kings and royal family of Hawaii, which traces its formation back to a young man from the northern end of the Big Island of Hawaii whose name meant "the very lonely one."

King Kamehameha I

King Kamehameha I ruled Hawaii when Europeans first came to Hawaii in 1778. Captain Cook arrived during the peaceful makahiki season and dubbed them "the Sandwich Islands," which thankfully didn't stick. The islanders thought the white men in their tall rigged sailing vessels were gods and welcomed them.

Cook returned the next year, but this time there was trouble. A chief took a boat from one of Cook's ships, and Cook went ashore with a party of sailors to seize the chief until the boat was returned. There was a fight, and Cook fell, cutting his head and bleeding.

The islanders were enraged that Cook had deceived them into thinking he was a god and they killed him, but surprisingly, Cook's deception did not end Hawaii's friendship with the British.