Holey Dollar from Australia

Date: 1799 - 1813

Materials: Silver

Origin: Australia (minted in Mexico)

Diameter: 17 mm

Accession No: 1971N707

'Holey dollars' were made in 1813, when the colony of New South Wales was suffering from a severe shortage of coins. The governor had 40,000 Spanish silver 8 reales coins cut up. A round disc was cut from the centre of each coin and the resulting two parts were then stamped with their value in British money. The discs were worth 15 pence and the outer rings (like this) 5 shillings. Ironically the work was carried out by William Henshall, who had originally been transported to Australia for forgery!

Purchased from Bristol City Museum, 1971.