IN EARLY 1942, THE UNITED States government began issuing a special set of banknotes custom-made for Hawaii. The back of each note looked identical to the existing U.S. paper currency apart from one major difference: the word “HAWAII” was stamped across it.
The design of these notes wasn’t the most elegant—the “HAWAII” looked as though it was inscribed by someone with a black ballpoint pen and a ruler. But that’s understandable, given their circumstances: these banknotes were an emergency series, rushed to print in the months following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The idea was that if Japan invaded Hawaii, the U.S. government could immediately identify and devalue the state’s currency so it would be worthless to the Japanese...
PS - there were also emergency issues for the North Africa campaign of the war. These have a yellow seal instead of brown (or the usual green). They also have a greater value, as they are less common.
