A superb New South Wales Holey Dollar of 1813 realized $350,307 [AUD477,000] when it went up on the block at Noble Numismatics’ July sale in Sydney, Australia. This was the first time the coin had been offered at auction.
The coin was not only in superb, as-struck condition, but came with a provenance that linked it closely with Governor Lachlan Macquarie who had given orders for these coins to be produced in the early 19th century [World Coin News June issue].
The coin had been acquired by Spink & Son in 1972 from the Scottish family to whom Macquarie had given it while still governor of NSW. Somewhere along the line Bill Barrett purchased it and then sold it to Ken Wilson in 1974 for $2,200. The host is a Charles IIII Mexico City Mint 8 reales dated 1792 FM.
The Australia dollar amount realized is a new world record auction price for a NSW Holey Dollar. Bidding started at AUD330,000 with the winning bid of AUD400,000 coming from the floor. Buyer’s premium added the extra $77,000.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News.
>> Subscribe today or get your >> Digital Subscription
More Collecting Resources
• Start becoming a coin collector today with this popular course, Coin Collecting 101.
• Are you a U.S. coin collector? Check out the 2016 U.S. Coin Digest for the most recent coin prices.
