ONE of the "finest known" examples of Australia's earliest coin is expected to fetch more than $300,000 when it goes up for auction in Sydney next week.

The extremely rare 1813 "holey dollar", one of only 300 still in existence, has been in the same family since 1959 when it was purchased for £70, or around $2100 today.

"I remember the owners showing it at a Numismatic Society meeting in 1960 - I've been around a while," Noble Numismatics managing director Jim Noble said. "It really is a top-notch example. This one is a good buy at $300,000 - it may bring more. A holey dollar we sold a while ago (went for) $470,000."

The holey dollars, valued at five shillings, were created by stamping the centres out of 40,000 imported Spanish silver eight-real coins, known as "pieces of eight". The middle, or "dump" became a secondary coin worth 15 pence.

The exterior ring of the coin bears the original Spanish stamp dated 1788 - coinciding with the First Fleet - while the inner ring is stamped "five shillings" on one side and "New South Wales 1813" on the other.

They were created by convict William Henshaw under the orders of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, to ensure a reliable supply of money for the fast-growing colony. They remained in use until 1829.

The Noble Numismatics auction will be held over four days and three nights from July 31 to August 3 at the State Library of NSW. It will also feature a "stunning" collection of Australian pre-Federation, Commonwealth and world banknotes valued at more than $2 million.

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