1813 Holey Dollar, Potosi Mint

To add further to the appeal of this Holey Dollar, the coin is photographed and featured in the Mira Noble book ‘The Holey Dollars of New South Wales’ published in 1988, reference 1800/8 . It also has been photographed and recorded in Coinworks Holey Dollar Pictorial History with weight 21.4gms and dimensions 41.4mm, also reference 1800/8.

Note the PTS overlapping monogram between REX and 8R in the legend. Signifying the Potosi Mint, it is said to have inspired the dollar coin insignia, $, we use today.

This is a coin that is distinguished by rarity. A prized possession, it has been held for twenty years in the one collection.

The status of the Holey Dollar as Australia’s first coin ensures that it will never be forgotten and, as time passes, its historical value can only increase.

No other coin has had so many books written about it. No other coin has been so highly exhibited. The Proof 1930 Penny is quite possibly the only other coin that attracts as much media interest.

The Holey Dollar is a coin that is held in the utmost respect. It is history. And yet it is refreshingly current. The ingenuity of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in creating our first coin is reflected in the naming of the Macquarie Bank and the bank’s ultimate adoption of the Holey Dollar as its logo.

The chart opposite details the distribution of known Holey Dollars by virtue of monarch and mint. What is clear is the relative scarcity of Holey Dollars with ties to the Potosi Mint. Approximately 15 of the 200 privately held Holey Dollars have ties to the Potosi Mint.