Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Fearing an imminent Japanese invasion of Hawaii following Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Treasury replaced all currency on the islands with over $400 million in specially-overprinted bills which, if captured, could immediately be declared worthless. The feared attack never materialized, and after the war around half the overprinted bills were incinerated. The other half, however, survived and remain readily available on the collectors' market.
SOURCES
web.archive.org/web/20140712104645/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jul/27/ln/507270358.html
web.archive.org/web/20170123122110/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/STUDIES IN INTELLIGENCE NAZI - RELATED ARTICLES_0017.pdf
pearlharbor.org/blog/the-history-of-the-hawaii-overprint-note
coinweek.com/hawaii-overprint-currency-note
learn.apmex.com/learning-guide/coin-collecting/hawaii-overprint-note
https://kealakai.byuh.edu/u-s-stamps-hawaii-on-dollar-bills-after-pearl-harbor-attack
Fearing an imminent Japanese invasion of Hawaii following Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Treasury replaced all currency on the islands with over $400 million in specially-overprinted bills which, if captured, could immediately be declared worthless. The feared attack never materialized, and after the war around half the overprinted bills were incinerated. The other half, however, survived and remain readily available on the collectors' market.
SOURCES
web.archive.org/web/20140712104645/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jul/27/ln/507270358.html
web.archive.org/web/20170123122110/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/STUDIES IN INTELLIGENCE NAZI - RELATED ARTICLES_0017.pdf
pearlharbor.org/blog/the-history-of-the-hawaii-overprint-note
coinweek.com/hawaii-overprint-currency-note
learn.apmex.com/learning-guide/coin-collecting/hawaii-overprint-note
https://kealakai.byuh.edu/u-s-stamps-hawaii-on-dollar-bills-after-pearl-harbor-attack
