Fifteen pence 'dump' coin

Agency/Maker
William Henshall
Production date
Circa 1813
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Object Detail

Brief description
From the beginning of the Colony of NSW currency was an issue. Coins from other countries were used as currency. At one stage rum was used as 'payment'. The first official Australian made coins were commissioend by Governor Macquarie.

Macquarie directed William Henshall, a convicted forger, to cut out the circular centre piece from each of the 40 000 Spanish dollars that arrived in the colony in 1812. The outer ring of the Spanish dollar became known as the 'holey dollar'. The cut out centre piece was named the 'dump'.

On 1 July 1813, Governor Macquarie issued a proclamation establishing the validity of the colony's holey dollar and dump. He also set their value at five shillings for the holey dollar and 15 pence for the dump.
Subject category
Convict
Department
Archaeology
Cultural Collections
Accession date
26 Oct 2012
Object number
ARC2012.16.1.PJP

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