2000 DISCOVERERS 2000TH ANNIVERSARY SILVER DALA

One day 2,000 years ago, a small sail appeared on the vast horizon. Now the uninhabited islands would be complete. Now there were people to see just how beautiful they were. The people came ashore and thought they were in paradise so they named it Hawaii that meant nirvana in their language. Until recently it was believed that Hawaii was first discovered about 1500 years ago. But the latest carbon dating tests conclusively show the Hawaiian Islands were first discovered about the same time as the Magi were following the Christmas Star to Bethlehem. The Wise Men had only one star to guide them, but the Polynesians, the true discoverers of Hawaii, had a sky full of stars. No other people in the world were as skillful navigators as they. Yet even their skills and physical endurance were strained to the limit by the long, arduous journey to the most remote islands in the world. To their new home, Hawaii. To celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the Discovery of Hawaii, the Royal Hawaiian Mint has taken special care to preserve and perpetuates the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Hawaiian people that has been the Mint's mission for a quarter century. The commemorative obverse features the portraits of "kane" (man) and "wahine" (woman) based on real life drawings made by John Webber, the official artist who accompanied Captain James Cook when he discovered Hawaii in 1778. Both portraits faithfully reproduce the fine detail in Webber's original work, which are now preserved in Honolulu's famed Bishop Museum. Webber recorded with painstaking accuracy how the Hawaiians appeared at the time of first European contact, decades before the missionaries and sailors brought Western influences to these islands. Surely the people who made the campfire 2000 years ago looked very much like the couple Webber sketched and the Mint reproduced on the stunning silver 2000th anniversary commemorative. Equal attention and care was devoted to the reverse design that symbolizes the discovery. Note the fine lines in the maile leaves that form the inner circle. The fragrant maile lei is especially appropriate as it is often worn to commemorate events and festive celebrations according to Hawaiian legends. The discoverers’ seagoing canoe is an authentic reproduction. Carefully examine the fine lines of the sails and thatched roof of the cabin, the ripple of the waves and the plume of ashen smoke pouring from the erupting volcano and you can begin to appreciate that this handsome commemorative is a work of art in itself as the dies were produced from intricate hand-sculptured masters. The OIP was $32 for the one ounce 999 fine silver proof. RE: MINTLINE NOVEMBER 1999