Australia 2026 $1 Holey Dollar Uncirculated Coin in Folder

• Distinctive ring-shaped $1 coin inspired by the original 1813 Holey Dollar.
• Historic coin detail framed by Australian golden wattle and Mexican dahlias.
• Marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Mexico.
• Uncirculated cupro-nickel issue with a maximum mintage of 35,000.
• Presented in an illustrated Origins of Australian Coin folder.

A circle cut from the centre changed Australian currency history. With coins scarce and foreign money leaving New South Wales through trade, Governor Lachlan Macquarie turned to an ingenious solution: make two local coins from one Spanish silver dollar. A shipment of 40,000 dollars arrived in 1812, and convicted forger William Henshall was entrusted with their transformation. The outer ring became the Holey Dollar, worth five shillings; the centre became the Dump, worth fifteen pence. These counterstamped pieces became the colony’s first distinctive coinage, increasing the number of coins available and discouraging their export. The Royal Australian Mint’s 2026 $1 Holey Dollar returns to that remarkable open-centred form, recalling a story of resourcefulness that began more than two centuries ago.

Recreating both sides of the 1804/1813 example held in the National Coin Collection, the modern design brings crowned pillars, historic lettering and a small 1813 Dump motif into sharply defined detail. King Charles III appears on the obverse above the historic Spanish dollar portrait and New South Wales counterstamp. Golden wattle and dahlias, linked by flowing ribbons, represent Australia and Mexico, recalling the colonial Mexican mints that supplied many of the original Spanish dollars and marking 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2026. Struck in cupro-nickel rather than silver, this Uncirculated issue presents that shared history in an illustrated Origins of Australian Coin folder. Come full circle with the Holey Dollar at FORTYMILLION.

Q. Is this an original 1813 Holey Dollar?
A. No. This is a 2026 Australian $1 commemorative coin inspired by the 1804 Spanish dollar converted into a Holey Dollar in 1813, now held in the National Coin Collection.

Q. Is the coin silver?
A. No. The 2026 coin is cupro-nickel. The historic Spanish dollars used to make the original Holey Dollars were silver.

Q. What is the Dump shown on the reverse?
A. The Dump was the centre removed from the original Spanish dollar. It became a separate coin worth fifteen pence, while the outer Holey Dollar was worth five shillings. Here, the Dump is part of the reverse design, not a separate coin included with the purchase.

Q. Who was William Henshall?
A. Henshall was a convicted forger whose metalworking skills were put to use by Governor Macquarie to produce the colony’s distinctive coins. Working in the basement of a building known as The Factory, near Sydney’s Bridge and Loftus streets beside the Tank Stream, he cut and counterstamped the imported Spanish dollars. This workshop effectively served as Australia’s first mint.

Q. Why did production take so long?
A. Macquarie expected the work to take three months, but it took more than a year. Henshall had to experiment with making the necessary machinery. The National Museum of Australia considers it likely that he used a drop hammer to apply the counterstamps, rather than a screw press.

Q. Did Henshall leave a maker’s mark?
A. Yes. He incorporated a small H into the spray of leaves in the original Holey Dollar counterstamp and between FIFTEEN and PENCE on the original Dump’s reverse dies. These marks belong to the historic coins; they are not a claim that this modern issue carries Henshall’s original counterstamp.

Q. Why did cutting the dollars help keep money in the colony?
A. Each imported dollar yielded two circulating pieces. Giving the altered coins distinctive New South Wales counterstamps and local values reduced their usefulness outside the colony and discouraged their export through trade.

Q. What happened to the original Holey Dollars and Dumps?
A. They entered circulation in 1814 and were progressively replaced by British sterling coinage from 1822. Original examples are now rare historic collectibles: the National Museum of Australia estimates that about 300 Holey Dollars survive. This modern commemorative is a separate issue, not an original colonial coin.

Q. What are original 1813 Holey Dollars worth today?
A. Condition, the underlying Spanish dollar, counterstamp quality, rarity and provenance can make substantial differences to value. As checked on 5 November 2026, Coins and Australia lists the following indicative retail guide values for original 1813 Holey Dollars. These are guide estimates, not completed sales, guaranteed valuations or values for this 2026 commemorative.

Q. What do those numerical grades mean?
A. The Sheldon scale runs from 1 to 70. Very Good, Fine and Very Fine describe progressively better-preserved circulated coins; Extremely Fine retains more detail, and About Uncirculated has only slight wear. Mint State describes coins without circulation wear, but does not mean flawless. On Holey Dollars, the condition of the original Spanish dollar and the later counterstamps also needs careful assessment. The Uncirculated finish of this 2026 issue is not a certified Sheldon grade.

Q. Are there recorded sales of original Holey Dollars and Dumps?
A. Yes. Noble Numismatics records an original 1813 Holey Dollar struck on an 1804 Mexico City eight reales as sold for A$160,000 in its July–August 2025 Sale 139. Coinworks lists a Very Fine 1813 Dump as sold on 17 March 2026 with a published price of A$25,000. Individual results relate to those particular coins and are not a price promise for other examples or for modern commemoratives.

Q. What does Uncirculated mean?
A. This is a collector issue produced with an Uncirculated finish, not a Proof coin. Uncirculated is not a numerical grading-service certification.

Q. Why are wattle and dahlias included?
A. Golden wattle represents Australia and dahlias represent Mexico, acknowledging the historic currency connection and 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2026.

Q. How is it presented?
A. One coin is protected in a blister within its illustrated presentation folder.

Q. What does the design bring together?
A. The open centre recalls the original Holey Dollar’s distinctive shape. Around it, the recreated Spanish dollar details and New South Wales counterstamp tell the story of a foreign coin transformed for use in colonial Australia. The reverse adds the smaller Dump motif, while golden wattle and dahlias connect that shared currency history with the modern Australian–Mexican diplomatic anniversary.