Celebrating one of the most important foundation stones of Australian currency history, this inspired new release from the Royal Australian Mint pays homage to the rare, iconic 1813 Holey Dollar & Dump.

Australia’s first locally produced coins, the 1813 Holey Dollar & Dump were part of an ingenious plan by Governor Lachlan Macquarie to resolve a currency shortage in the colony. Macquarie procured 40,000 Spanish Silver Dollars from India – many struck in Spain’s colonial outpost of Mexico – and employed William Henshall to punch the centre from each coin.

Henshall then counterstruck each of the now two coins with new denominations, the outer ring (‘Holey Dollar’) with five shillings and the centre (‘Dump’) 15 pence. The lifeblood of the economy until demonetised in 1829, most coins were either swapped for British currency or melted down. Among the nation’s highest profile rarities, the Holey Dollar is known by approximately 300 examples, with around 1,000 Dumps in existence.

The perfect tribute to these iconic coins, this utterly unique Australian legal tender type has been struck in the same format as the Holey Dollar! Bearing reverse and obverse designs based on an original 1813 Holey Dollar held in Australia’s National Coin Collection, as well as a depiction of an 1813 Dump, the 30mm flan of each coin has a hole in the centre! The perfect way to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations, each coin also depicts Australia’s Golden Wattle and Mexico’s Dahlia.