Salt Lake resident Thelma Salangsang expected a crowd at Bishop Square when she arrived at 7 a.m. yesterday to buy rolls of the new Hawaii commemorative quarter.

Hawaii Quarter Unveiled

 

A big day for Hawaii and people who collect coins.

 

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  To her surprise, she was the first one but had to wait until 12:30 p.m. for the sale.

Salangsang headed a line of people snaking around the block downtown on the day Hawaii's quarter was released.

“;We should be proud,”; she said. “;Hawaii's coin is the most beautiful coin of all 50 (states).”;

More than 400 people attended the official launch ceremony of the state's commemorative quarter at Bishop Square. The 50th State became the final one to be honored in the 50 State Quarters Program, the most popular coin program in U.S. history, said Edmund Moy, director of the U.S. Mint, in yesterday's ceremony.

The U.S. Mint will produce about 520 million Hawaii quarters for up to 10 weeks.

An estimated 147 million coin collectors around the country were waiting for this quarter to complete the series, Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday. The 50 State Quarters Program was initiated almost 10 years ago.

Salangsang, 56, said her husband, Doroteo, who works as a clerk-typist for the state, has collected coins for more than 25 years and has been patiently awaiting the Hawaii quarter's debut despite recent illness.

“;He was telling me last night, 'I'm blessed that I lived to get the coin,' because he's going to be 80 years old. So he said, 'I actually lived the 10 years,'”; she said.

The reverse side of the quarter features King Kamehameha I with his right hand outstretched to the Hawaiian Islands. Inscribed on the coin is the state motto, “;Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono”; - which means, “;The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”;

“;Hawaii has many symbols that represent its rich history, diverse culture and natural beauty,”; Moy said during the ceremony. “;But the image of King Kamehameha reaching out to the eight major Hawaiian islands captures one of the basic principles of your state and of our country. And that principle is unity.”;

Moy said he believes that Hawaii, among all states, had the longest line of people waiting to pick up quarters on the first day of their release. But Hawaii's coin enthusiasts had it easy compared with those in Arizona, who endured 105-degree weather.

Lauren Kamei, 18, a member of the Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission, stood in line with her family to pick up rolls of quarters for their relatives. Kamei, who comes from generations of coin collectors, described the ceremony as historic.

“;It was really chicken skin,”; she said.

A line of people snaked up Bishop Street to Hotel Street down to Alakea Street. Many bought the maximum limit of five rolls per person at a tent at Bishop Square. Some said they plan to give the rolls of coins to their relatives and friends as Christmas gifts.

Many branches of First Hawaiian Bank, American Savings Bank and Bank of Hawaii experienced high demand for the quarters yesterday.

“;A lot of our branches did run low with inventory, or they did run out,”; said Dawn Dunbar, spokeswoman for American Savings Bank, adding they are in the process of ordering more coins from the U.S. Mint to arrive by the end of the week.