Finance chair Walter M. Gibson, supported by Minister of the Interior Samuel G. Wilder, pushed a new currency law through the 1880 legislature. It allowed the kingdom to purchase gold and silver bullion to be struck into new Hawaiian coins. Having the kingdom issue its own coins was one means by which the government hoped to improve Native Hawaiian morale, as their numbers and their influence had both been declining over the previous few decades. The king became more interested in coinage bearing his likeness during his world tour of 1881. During this journey, he was contacted by the owner of a New Caledonia nickel mining company hoping to use the metal in coinage, and sample five-cent pieces were sent to the king after his return to Honolulu. They found little favor, possibly because Hawaii's motto was misspelled. No action was taken until 1882, when the king appointed Gibson to lead the government. He moved forward with the coin idea; the currency was to have the king's image on the obverse side, and Hawaii's coat of arms and motto Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono (The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness) on the reverse. The 1880 law specified that the silver coins were to be in denominations of one dollar, fifty cents, twenty-five cents, and twelve and one-half cents. Twelve and one-half cents, or one bit (one Spanish colonial real) was sometimes the day's pay for a laborer.
