In 1853 the Missionary stamps were superseded by a new issue depicting King Kamehameha III. The Hawaiian Postmaster General in late 1863 contacted the American Bank Note Company of New York to create this new series of stamps.
Five denominations were engraved in that first series which depicted members of the Hawaiian Royal Family. The initial 2-cent value appeared in 1864. The American Bank Note Company continued to produce engraved stamps for Hawaii depicting the Royal Family or scenes of the Islands.
This proof was created for the 1889 reprinting of the 13-cent Kamehameha III issue.
Die proof of Hawaiian Scott Catalogue: 6.
Museum ID: 1995.2098.9