Unique 1813 Holey Dollar, created from a Mexico Mint Spanish Silver Dollar struck in 1789 during the reign of Charles IV and featuring the portrait and legend of the deceased monarch, Charles III
A monarch’s death necessitates a currency change. But when a monarch dies, and a new portrait is unavailable, resourceful Governments introduce ad hoc measures to maintain coin production. It is an environment that can spawn a great coin rarity, a numismatic star. And this Holey Dollar is one such star. The original Spanish Silver Dollar, from which this Holey Dollar was created, was issued in 1789 during the reign of Charles IV and features the portrait and legend of his father, Charles III, who died in 1788. The production of Spanish Silver Dollars in the silver-rich colonies of South America was critical to maintaining Spain’s ascendancy as a world power. Rather than halt production of the silver dollars until a new effigy was received, the mints maintained their coin production using the effigy of the deceased king. Fewer than three hundred Holey Dollars survive today and of those, only two have this extraordinary design detail. Each is unique. The first is this example, the dollar originating from the Mexico Mint in Mexico. The second, a Holey Dollar with ties to the Lima Mint in Peru. This is an historic offering of an important Holey Dollar, a coin that plays a pivotal role in Australia's Holey Dollar story.
In the realm of rare coins, Holey Dollars exist on a different plane. They transcend mere collectibles and have become coveted objects that represent the pinnacle of Australia's numismatic industry, our very first coin.
Philip Spalding was a passionate Holey Dollar collector and author. He narrated the ‘Holey Dollar story’ better than anyone else, using coins from his collection to illustrate the point.
His book, ‘The World of the Holey Dollar’, published in 1973 is a literary masterpiece. Incomparable for the depth of information it provides, the book is to this day, a major reference on the nation's first coins and is used worldwide.
Spalding was particularly interested in the rarer types of Holey Dollars, his personal collecting preferences directed towards those dollars that marked the changing of a monarch, such as this coin.
He devoted chapter eighteen to the 'Top Dollars' as they were perceived in 1973. Seventeen Holey Dollars formed his 'top' dollar list and this coin was one of them, featured on page 209.
Unique in 1973, when owned by Philip Spalding, and unique today, this Holey Dollar is a prize. (A copy of Philip Spalding's 'The World of the Holey Dollar' will be gifted with this coin.)
Unique
Type 3 Holey Dollar
Unique
Type 3 Holey Dollar
Holey Dollars are classified into types based on the legend and portrait of the monarch depicted on the original Spanish Silver Dollar. There are eight distinct types of Holey Dollars and the piece offered here is a Type 3 Holey Dollar, and one of the rarer types with just two known examples.
The protocols for defining each type are detailed below, and the number of Holey Dollars available to collectors.
Type 1 - Ferdinand VI Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend and portrait of Ferdinand VI (1746 - 1759).
Availability: 2
Type 2 - Charles III Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend and portrait of Charles III (1759 - 1788).
Availability: 22
Type 3 - Charles III, deceased Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend and portrait of the deceased King Charles III, depicted on silver dollars issued during the reign of Charles IV. (1788 - 1808)
Availability: 2
Type 4 - Charles III on Charles IV Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend of the reigning monarch Charles IV and the portrait of the deceased King Charles III.
Availability: 8
Type 5 - Charles IV Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend and portrait of Charles IV (1788 - 1808)
Availability: 129
Type 6 - Charles IV Continental Holey Dollar
Design: struck from a Continental Silver Dollar, featuring the legend and portrait of Charles IV.
Availability: 1
Type 7 - Ferdinand VII Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend and portrait of Ferdinand VII. Ferdinand VII was exiled in 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaiming his brother Joseph as king of Spain from 1808 to 1813.
Availability: 13
Type 8 - Hannibal Head Holey Dollar
Design: features the legend of Ferdinand VII and an imaginary portrait of the monarch referred to as the 'Hannibal Head'. Ferdinand VII was exiled in 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaiming his brother Joseph as king of Spain from 1808 to 1813.
Availability: 2
The obverse counter-stamps 'New South Wales'' and '1813' are in the same vertical vista as the date of the silver dollar, '1789'. The optimum position.
The reverse counter-stamp die is designated as Die B with a double twig of leaves and a tiny 'H' for Henshall at the junction.
The obverse counter-stamps 'New South Wales'' and '1813' are in the same vertical vista as the date of the silver dollar, '1789'. The optimum position.
The reverse counter-stamp die is designated as Die B with a double twig of leaves and a tiny 'H' for Henshall at the junction.
Coin: Created from a Spanish Silver Dollar of the 'bust' type dated 1789 and depicting the portrait and legend of the deceased King Charles III (Charles III died in December 1788).
Price: $145,000
To maintain coin production, the colonial mints continued to produce coinage with the legend and portrait of the deceased king. Three hundred Holey Dollars survive today and of those, only two have this extraordinary design detail.
The aesthetic appeal and the rarity of this Holey Dollar are enhanced by the alignment of the obverse counter-stamps 'New South Wales'' and '1813' which are in the same vertical vista as the date of the silver dollar, '1789'. Only a handful of Holey Dollars exhibit such alignment.
A study of the surviving Holey Dollars reveals that Henshall's application of the counter-stamps was wildly random, that the holed dollar was not placed in a particular position between the dies. And it obviously didn't matter which side of the holed dollar was facing up. Precision was simply not required which is why the counter-stamps of most Holey Dollars are 'all over the shop'.
Price: $145,000
Design type: 3
Date of the silver dollar: 1789
Reigning monarch: Charles IV (1788 - 1808)
Design of the silver dollar: colonial bust type
Portrait: Charles III
Legend: Carolus (Charles) III
Quality of the silver dollar : Good Fine
Quality counter stamps: Nearly Very Fine
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