The 2008 Hawaii State Quarter will be released into circulation on Monday, November 3, 2008. This will mark the final coin of the 50 State Quarters Program.

The reverse design of the Hawaii Quarter features a statue of King Kamehameha I. He was responsible for unifying the governance of the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1800′s. The ruler is depicted with his right hand outstretched towards the eight main Hawaiian Islands. An inscription is included which translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” Hawaii was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959.

The US Mint will offer Hawaii Quarters through the Bags and Rolls Program. Two-Roll Sets of Hawaii Quarters from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints will be available priced at $32.95. 100-Coin and 1,000 Coin Bags will be available priced at $32.95 and $309.95 respectively. These will both go on sale November 3, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.

Since the 50 State Quarter Program began in 1999, the US Mint has produced more than 33 billion State Quarters. The State with the highest production was the 2001 Virginia Quarter with almost 1.6 billion produced. According to the US Mint approximately 147 million Americans collect State Quarters. The US government has made an estimated $4.6 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation. (This figure is from a Congressional Budget Office Report released in 2005 so the current amount may be even greater.)

Next year a separate program will begin known as The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program. This will honor other jurisdictions which are not states. This includes Washington DC, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

A few final products from the US Mint’s recently released 2008 Gift Catalog feature this year’s State Quarters.

The first product is the 2008 Hawaii First Day Coin Cover. Hawaii Quarters from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints are on a custom display card. One of the four 42 cent Flags 24/7 stamps are included. The postmark will be November 3, 2008, the first day Hawaii Quarters are released to the public. The covers are limited to 35,000 and priced at $14.95.

The second product is the 2008 50 State Quarters Greetings from America Card Set. These are baseball card sized cards that each include one quarter and one stamp. The stamps are from the Greetings from America stamp series. The cards are for the five quarters released in 2008: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii. The set is priced at $27.99.

The last product is the 2008 50 State Quarters Greetings from America Portfolio. This is similar to the card set, but the coins and stamps are inlcuded in a portfolio with scenic photographs from each state. There are also Certificates of Authenticity signed by the United States Mint Director and Postmaster General. The portfolios are priced at $29.99.

The cards and portfolios from all prior years back to 1999 are actually still available for sale on the US Mint’s website. You can find them here.

Sales for all of the above products began today October 27, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET. Although orders are being accepted, shipping for all of these products is delayed since the unreleased Hawaii Quarter is included. The US Mint’s website states that the products will be available for shipping on December 15, 2008.

As mentioned these products were included in the 2008 Gift Catalog, which included several other products which were released today. You can check my prior posts for the other products:

2008 US Mint Gift Catalog
2008 Presidential Dollar Products
2008 American Legacy Collection