2003 $1 Holey Dollar and Dump Silver Proof Coin

This coin celebrates one of Australia’s earliest and most intriguing forms of currency - the Holey Dollar and Dump. Originating in 1813, these unusual coins were struck to redress a chronic shortage of coinage in the fledgling colony of New South Wales. Governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered the centres of 40,000 Spanish dollars be punched out and both the outer ring and displaced plug counter stamped with new denominations. The resulting coins proved a godsend to the settlement and were not officially withdrawn as legal tender until 1 October 1829.