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This is Gov. Linda Lingle's recommendation for the design of the Hawaii state quarter.
Voting will run through 9 p.m. today and results will appear on Page A3 tomorrow and online at starbulletin.com.
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King, motto and islands grace face of quarter
Gov. Lingle names her choice for the design for the Hawaii state quarter
The likeness of King Kamehameha the Great will grace the Hawaii state quarter to be released in fall 2008, Gov. Linda Lingle has decided.
The design was chosen over some better-known Hawaii images, including a hula dancer, a surfer and Diamond Head. The coin will also feature the state motto in Hawaiian.
"Our essence is tied to our host culture, the native Hawaiian people, and this gives us a chance to express that to the world," Lingle said yesterday. "That's what's important: who we feel we are as a people, and not how visitors feel about us."
The design of Hawaii's commemorative quarter is the one many people liked in the first place with images of King Kamehameha I, the eight major islands and the state motto in Hawaiian.
The Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission had recommended the design to Gov. Linda Lingle, who favored the design and has the state's final say.
And it was the one receiving the most votes from the public solicited by the commission midway in the process.
The commission and Lingle rejected other designs that depict better-known Hawaii icons, including a surfer, hula dancer and Diamond Head crater.
"It's (the design) not a typical thing that tourists think of when they think of Hawaii. This is what we think of," Lingle said.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Gov. Linda Lingle and members of the Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission posed yesterday with the winning design for the state's quarter. The selection now goes to the U.S. secretary of the Treasury for final approval. CLICK FOR LARGE
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She said having the motto -- Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) -- on the coin will also help to perpetuate the Hawaiian language.
Commission Chairman Jonathan Johnson said the chosen design gives the people of Hawaii the opportunity to tell the world what is important to them.
"What we see is the educational value, that people will say, 'Who's this guy, what's this (motto) say and what are all these dots (islands)?"
To settle on a single recommendation, Johnson said the commission first eliminated two of the five proposed designs -- one with a surfer and one similar to the winner, but with a smaller image of Kamehameha and different lettering for the state motto.
The major difference between the two Kamehameha designs was in the narratives explaining the designs, so Johnson said the commission combined the two themes: Hawaii, the Island State, and Hawaii -- Diverse but Unified.
Aesthetically, commissioners liked the Diamond Head design because it provides visual depth. But the commissioners from the neighbor islands rejected it because Diamond Head does not represent all of the islands, he said.
According to the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, the selected design goes to the secretary of the Treasury for final approval.
The Hawaii quarter is scheduled to be released to the public starting in fall 2008.
