2026 $1 Origins Of Australian Holey Dollar Uncirculated Coin

In 2026, Australia and Mexico celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations - a partnership built on cooperation, culture and shared outlooks. Yet the connection between these two nations reaches back far deeper in time. More than 150 years earlier, Spanish silver dollars struck in colonial Mexican mints travelled vast ocean trade routes to the fledgling colony of New South Wales. Faced with a critical shortage of currency, Governor Lachlan Macquarie authorised their transformation into Australia’s first distinctive coins: the Holey Dollar and Dump. By punching out their centres, these global coins were ingeniously remade to serve a new economy.

Today, this remarkable story of adaptation and exchange highlights an enduring link between Australia and Mexico - one forged not only through diplomacy, but through shared history, resourcefulness and the enduring legacy of our coin origins.

This coin commemorates a colonial numismatic history between Mexico and Australia and tells the story of how Australia’s early currency came to be. During the Spanish colony Mexico produced silver dollars at many of their mints - some that would one day be reused by William Henshall to create the iconic Australian Holey Dollar and Dump.

This 2026 coin design features the 1804/1813 Holey Dollar currently held in the National Coin Collection. On the reverse a stylised bouquet of ribbons, flowers, and leaves frame the Holey Dollar. They embellish the coin design by featuring the Holey Dollar’s original decorative elements, whilst at the same time bringing in new symbolism through added national flowers - dahlias for Mexico and wattle for Australia.

The obverse continues to display the Holey Dollar, allowing a full view of the original coin from both sides. The King Charles III effigy is presented at the top of the coin.