 The Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar was proposed because of the observances there for the 150th anniversary of Captain James Cook becoming the first European to reach the Hawaiian Islands , or , as it was termed then , its discovery . Planners decided on a date for the celebrations as August 1928 , as midway between the sesquicentennial of Cook 's landing in January 1778 and of his death in the islands in February 1779 . A resolution was passed by the legislature of the Territory of Hawaii to give the celebrations official status , and to ask the federal government to have the armed forces participate . The resolution requested that Washington invite the United Kingdom ( Cook 's allegiance ) and other nations . It also asked the federal government to issue a half dollar and postage stamps in honor of the anniversary . At the time , commemoratives were not sold by the government — Congress , in authorizing legislation , designated an organization which had the exclusive right to purchase the coins at face value and vend them to the public at a premium . In the case of the Hawaii half dollar , the Cook Sesquicentennial Commission of Hawaii was the designated group . 
