Colonial Spanish Coins

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The holey dollar was created to address a shortage of coins in the new colony. Governor Lachlan Macquarie imported 40,000 Spanish reales in 1812 and had convicted forger William Henshall cut the centre out of each, to double the number of available coins.

The coins were counterstamped and the outer ring became known as the holey dollar, with the centre renamed the dump.

Macquarie set the value of the holey dollar at five shillings, with 15 pence for the dump. These coins went into circulation in 1814 and were replaced with sterling coinage from 1822. The National Museum’s holey dollar is one of about 300 in existence.

 

Further reading: https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/holey-dollar?fbclid=IwAR3HDI27LQVzy8HriTigYP1M6aC8Un5StKmdrK77abS7zJJn9vo3cGjpmJo#:~:text=Macquarie set the value of,of about 300 in existence
(National Museum of Australia)

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Gold Doubloon - Lima mint. 

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Mint Marks. 

[paul wood]

Apart from Africa, where the Maria Thresia taler became the preferred currency, the Spanish dollar or 8 reales was used in every other continent (Antarctica excepted), during the Napoleonic war  Spanish dollars were used in England with a George III silver mark as countermark on the obverse, they were valued at 4 shillings and 9 pence, threepence less than a crown of 5 shillings, hence the contemporary jest about the coins as "2 king's heads not worth a crown".

 

Paul