1883 Hawaii Dime 10c Grades Select AU. The 1883 Hawaiian "umi keneta" was struck at the San Francisco Mint on U.S. dime planchets. Many were redeemed and melted after Hawaii acquired U.S. territorial statusPer Maurice Gould and Kenneth Bressett writing in Hawaiian Coins, Tokens, and Paper Money (1961): "In 1883, Claus Spreckels, a banker, sugar planter, and power behind the throne, approached the King on the subject of having a silver coinage struck for the Islands. Application was made by the Hawaiian Government for the coinage at the San Francisco mint, of one million dollars in silver denominations to correspond with the silver coins of the United States of America in fineness and weight, regulations of the 9th of November, 1883, by the Secretary of the United States Treasury." Ultimately, 250,000 Hawaiian Dimes were struck in 1883. The 1883 Hawaiian Dime has close connections to the United States because it was at Philadelphia Mint that these coins were struck. Not all the Hawaiian coins matched the U.S. coinage system exactly, but the Hawaiian Dime does -- it is the same size and purity as the U.S. Dimes of the period. The denomination or value appears twice on the reverse: first as "One Dime" and again as "Umi Keneta" (the Hawaiian transalation). In 1883, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars were struck at the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia for Hawaii. These coins display a bust of the King David Kalakaua. The sizes of the coins match those of United States coins and, although the Hawaiian coins bore unusual Hawaiian denominations, they were valued the same as their U.S. counterparts.