A rare 1813 holey dollar (lot 60) met all expectations when it sold for $145,000 at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions coins, banknotes and stamps auction on February 16.
Struck on a Spanish Charles III 1806 eight reales from Mexico City the sale price was at the higher end of the catalogue estimate.
Introduced by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1813 and Australia’s first coins, holey dollars were used in New South Wales during the early days of penal settlement....