The first shipment of commemorative quarters featuring King Kamehameha, Hawai'i's state motto and the island chain sold out within hours last week at Hawaiian Islands Stamp & Coin on Bishop Street. And the second, larger shipment of 30 sets that came into the shop on Friday was gone by the next day.

An even bigger order of 50 sets is already spoken for, even though it hasn't even arrived.

"We sold out but the phone calls keep coming in so we've been taking names and numbers," said Samantha Medcalf, who runs Hawaiian Islands Stamp & Coin with her husband, Don. "We're ordering every day."

The last commemorative quarter in the 50-state series came out in spectacular silver proof on Feb. 25 and followed a less-expensive set of "proof coins" on Jan. 24.

Individual Hawai'i quarters are scheduled to enter general circulation in November.

"They're not even in circulation yet," said Jonathan Johnson, chairman of the Hawai'i Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission. "So this is the first chance people in Hawai'i can actually get their hands on one."

The Hawai'i commemorative quarter — in either proof or silver proof — comes in a sealed case set that includes quarters honoring Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Alaska. Each quarter in the set bears the "S" mint mark of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco.

Proof blanks are specially selected, treated, polished and cleaned, according to the U.S. Mint. The blanks are then carefully handled to avoid scratches and abrasions, then fed into presses fitted with polished dies and struck at least twice to provide extra detail and clarity, the Mint said.

Silver proof coins are struck in 90 percent silver.

Johnson admired the polished details of the Hawai'i quarter yesterday, including the intricacy of the state motto printed on the coin, "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono," "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

"The Hawai'i quarter is really smooth and really reflective, as opposed to lots and lots of other states that have lots of things on them," Johnson said.

Alaska's quarter features a grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth, the North Star and the inscriptions "The Great Land," "Alaska" and "1959."

Oklahoma's features its state bird, the scissortail flycatcher, flying over the state wildflower, the Indian Blanket, and the inscriptions, "Oklahoma" and "1907."

New Mexico's includes a Zia sun symbol over an outline of the state, with the inscriptions, "Land of Enchantment," "New Mexico" and "1912."

Arizona's quarter includes an image of the Grand Canyon with a Saguaro cactus, with the inscriptions, "Arizona" and "1912."

Hawai'i's quarter hits exactly the right tone, said Johnson.

"We had a unanimous consensus at the end," Johnson said. "Everyone agreed and felt strongly and so did the governor and the public through the online poll. Everyone's going to be really pleased, especially because we got the Hawaiian language on it."

Each of the previous quarters in the Mint's commemorative series over the past decade has been popular at Hawaiian Islands Stamp & Coin.

But Medcalf expects the Hawaiian coin to be especially hot.

"It's going to be much, much more in demand," she said. "People want to finish their collections and this is it for them. But for the local people, it will be something to share around the world."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.