A Hawaii overprint note is one of a series of banknote

Banknote

A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...

s (one Silver Certificate

Silver Certificate

Silver Certificates are a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United...

 and three Federal Reserve Note

Federal Reserve Note

A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...

s) issued during World War II as an emergency issue after the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

. The intent of the overprints was to easily distinguish US currency captured by Japanese forces in the event of an invasion of Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and render the bills useless.

Issue

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, military officials surmised that in the event of an invasion of Hawaii, Japanese forces would have access to a considerable amount of US currency that could be seized from financial institutions or private individuals. Faced with this scenario, on January 10, 1942, Military Governor Delos Carleton Emmons

Delos Carleton Emmons

-Biography:He was born on January 17, 1889 in Huntington, West Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in June 1909 and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant. Emmons was assigned as commanding officer of Company B, 30th Infantry Regiment at the Presidio of San...

 issued an order to recall all regular US paper money in the Islands, save for set caps on how much money both individuals ($200) and businesses ($500; save extra currency for payroll

Payroll

In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons...

 purposes) could possess at any time.

On June 25, 1942, new overprinted notes were first issued. Series 1935A $1 Silver Certificate, Series 1934 $5 and $20 Federal Reserve Notes, and Series 1934A $5, $10, and $20 Federal Reserve Notes from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states-—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington--plus the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,...

 were issued with brown treasury seals

Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury

The United States Treasury Seal is the official symbol of the United States Department of the Treasury. It actually predates the department, having originated with the Board of Treasury during the period of the Articles of Confederation. It is used on all U.S...

 and serial numbers. Overprints of the word HAWAII were made; two small overprints to the sides of the obverse of the bill between the border and both the treasury seal and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco seal, and huge outlined HAWAII lettering dominating the reverse. The hope was that should there have been a Japanese invasion, the US Government could immediately declare any Hawaii-stamped notes worthless, due to their easy identification.

With this issue, military officials made the use of non-overprinted notes redundant and ordered all Hawaii residents to turn in unstamped notes for Hawaii-stamped notes by July 15. Starting from August 15, 1942, no other paper currency could be used except under special permission.

HAWAII Overprint Notes

Image

Value

Dimensions

Main Color

Description

Date of

$1 United States one-dollar bill The United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest... Silver Certificate Silver Certificate Silver Certificates are a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United...

6.140 × 2.610 in

Green; Black

George Washington George Washington George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

Great Seal of the United States Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...

None

June 25, 1942

April, 1946

Friedberg F-2300 Friedberg F-2300*

$5 United States five-dollar bill The United States five-dollar bill or fiver is a denomination of United States currency. The $5 bill currently features U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes... Federal Reserve Note Federal Reserve Note A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...

6.140 × 2.610 in

Green; Black

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

Lincoln Memorial Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...

None

June 25, 1942

April, 1946

Friedberg F-2301 Friedberg F-2301* Friedberg F-2302 Friedberg F-2302*

$10 United States ten-dollar bill The United States ten-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. The first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, is currently featured on the obverse of the bill, while the U.S. Treasury is featured on the reverse. The United States ten-dollar bill ($10) is a... Federal Reserve Note

6.140 × 2.610 in

Green; Black

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

US Treasury Building Treasury Building (Washington, D.C.) The Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. is a National Historic Landmark building which is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Treasury....

None

June 25, 1942

April, 1946

Friedberg F-2303 Friedberg F-2303*

$20 United States twenty-dollar bill The United States twenty-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. U.S. President Andrew Jackson is currently featured on the front side of the bill, which is why the twenty-dollar bill is often called a "Jackson," while the White House is featured on the reverse side.The... Federal Reserve Note

6.140 × 2.610 in

Green; Black

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

White House White House The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

None

June 25, 1942

April, 1946

Friedberg F-2304 Friedberg F-2304* Friedberg F-2305 Friedberg F-2305*

Destruction of recalled notes

Faced with a $200 million stockpile of US currency, military officials opted to destroy all the recalled currency instead of overcoming the logistical problems of shipping the currency back to the mainland. At first, a local crematorium was pressed into service to burn the notes. To ensure complete destruction, a fine mesh was placed on the top of the smokestacks to catch and recirculate unburnt scraps of currency escaping the fire.

Progress on the destruction was slow, and pressed with time, the bigger furnaces of the Aiea Sugar Mill

Sugar refinery

A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...

 were requisitioned to help burn the currency.

Use

The notes and issuance continued in use until October 21, 1944; by April 1946, notes were being recalled. Many notes were saved as curios and souvenirs by servicemen.

As a collectible

Of the series, the $5 note is considered the most desirable, as a little over 9 million examples were printed. Over 35 million $1 notes were made, making them the most common of the series.
Star Note

Star note

A star note is a bank note that has an asterisk , or star, after the serial number. These have been used by various countries around the world including Australia and United States. In the US, The Bureau of Engraving and Printing inspects currency for printing errors prior to releasing notes into...

s exist for all the notes, and command a sizable premium.

Denomination	Quantity Printed	Star Note Quantity Printed	References
$1	35,052,000	204,000
$5	9,416,000	?
$10	10,424,000	?
$20	11,246,000	54,500