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1 Dollar - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - 200th Anniversary of the Holey Dollar and Dump
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 25.188 g |
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| Reverse description | Faithful replica of the reverse of the original 1813 New South Wales Holey Dollar, struck from a Spanish colonial eight-reales dollar with its centre punched out. The remaining annular field displays the partial draped royal robes of King Charles IV in high relief above and below the central perforation. Around the inner edge of the hole, the legend NEW SOUTH WALES and the date 1813 are inscribed, while the outer legend CAROLUS · III · DEI · GRATIA encircles the upper field and the date 1788 appears in the lower field between two pellets, referencing the year of European settlement in New South Wales. |
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| Reverse lettering | CAROLUS*III* DEI*GRATIA NEW SOUTH WALES 1813 1788 |
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| Additional information |
In 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie solved New South Wales' chronic coin shortage by purchasing 40,000 Spanish Colonial eight-reales pieces and ordering them punched through the centre. The outer ring — restamped as the "Holey Dollar" — circulated at five shillings, while the extracted centre plug, the "Dump," passed at fifteen pence. The manoeuvre effectively doubled the colony's usable currency and prevented the coins from being exported, since their mutilation rendered them worthless outside the colony.
The 2013 issue marks exactly two centuries since Macquarie's directive. William Henshall, a convicted forger transported to the colony, was the man actually tasked with the punching and countermarking work.