A major Australian “might-have-been” comes to GreatCollections this summer.
The coin is a 1967 Australia Andor Mészáros Silver Dollar Plain Edge, KM-XM2. PCGS grades it Proof-67 CAMEO with attractive toning. GreatCollections lists the piece as part of its current auction, with bidding scheduled to close on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
For collectors of Australian decimal coinage, this is not just another silver dollar. It is the famous 1967 Swan Dollar. Many collectors still call it the “Goose Dollar.” However, the bird on the obverse is a native Australian black swan.
More importantly, this coin tells a bigger story. It captures a public challenge to Australia’s first decimal coinage system. It also shows what Australia’s first one-dollar coin might have looked like.
Australia’s Missing Dollar Coin
Australia changed to decimal currency on February 14, 1966. The new system replaced pounds, shillings, and pence with dollars and cents. The first decimal coin lineup included 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins.
However, it did not include a one-dollar coin.
That omission disappointed many collectors. It also frustrated John Gartner, the founder of Australian Coin Review. Gartner believed Australia needed a crown-sized decimal coin. So, in 1965, Australian Coin Review launched an international design competition for an unofficial Australian decimal crown.
The winning design came from Andor Mészáros.
Andor Mészáros and the Design That Almost Was
Mészáros was a Hungarian-born sculptor and medallic artist. He already had a serious connection to Australia’s decimal coinage. The government had invited him as one of six artists to submit designs for the official 1966 decimal coins.
Yet Stuart Devlin won that competition.
For the Australian Coin Review contest, Mészáros revisited some of his rejected official designs. On the obverse, he used a black swan in flight. That design came from his earlier 20-cent proposal. He added AUSTRALIA, a crown, and the date 1967.
On the reverse, he placed the numeral 100 within a cluster of native wattle. That reverse grew out of his proposed two-cent design.
Together, the two sides created one of the most elegant fantasy patterns in modern Commonwealth numismatics.
A Private Pattern With a Public Message
Australian Coin Review submitted the design to the government. The authorities did not adopt it. Therefore, ACR took the next step itself.
The magazine commissioned John Pinches Medallists of London to strike the pieces privately in 1967. The result was not legal tender. Instead, it became a private fantasy pattern.
Even so, collectors embraced it. The design filled the symbolic gap left by the 1966 decimal coinage. It also gave Australian collectors the crown-sized dollar coin that the official program lacked.
Australia did not introduce a circulating one-dollar coin until May 14, 1984. By then, the Swan Dollar had already spent 17 years as the great unofficial dollar of Australian decimal coinage.
Why the Plain Edge Proof Matters
The 1967 Swan Dollar came in several forms. The standard silver pieces had a milled edge and an uncirculated finish. Their mintage reached 1,500 pieces.
The Proof silver version had a plain edge. Only 750 were struck.
That difference matters. The Proof issue offered stronger mirrors, sharper presentation, and a much smaller mintage. As a result, plain edge Proofs sit at the center of collector demand today.
The GreatCollections example carries a PCGS Proof-67 CAMEO grade. That grade places it deep into the elite range for the issue. The CAMEO designation also adds appeal. It confirms strong contrast between the frosted devices and mirrored fields.
The toning gives the coin another layer of interest. Swan Dollars often came in maroon leatherette cases. Over time, some examples developed colorful natural toning. On this piece, the toning helped turn a rare fantasy pattern into a visually memorable coin.
A $30 Northern Michigan Discovery
This coin also carries a remarkable modern backstory.
According to the consignor, the coin surfaced about 15 to 18 years ago in a Northern Michigan coin shop. At the time, it sat in an older blue-border PCI holder graded Proof-64. The consignor paid about $30 for it.
He did not know what it was. He bought it because the toning looked attractive.
Then the mystery deepened. The consignor brought it to several Michigan State Numismatic Society coin shows. He asked dealers for information. Nobody could identify it with confidence.
So, he put it back into his collection. Later, after more research, he discovered the truth. His $30 purchase was one of the key fantasy patterns of Australian decimal coinage.
Now PCGS grades the coin Proof-67 CAMEO. It heads to GreatCollections as a top-quality example of a 750-mintage proof issue.
That is the kind of discovery story collectors love. It combines sharp eyes, patience, and a coin that hid in plain sight.
Coin Specifications
- Country: Australia
Australia 1967 Silver Dollar Andor Meszaros Fantasy Plain Edge PCGS Proof-67 CAMEO - Year: 1967
- Type: Andor Mészáros Fantasy Plain Edge Dollar
- Catalog Number: KM-XM2
- PCGS / Industry Number: 515176
- Strike: Proof
- Grade: PCGS Proof-67 CAMEO, Toned
- Designer: Andor Mészáros
- Mintage: 750 Proofs
- Composition: 92.5% silver
- Actual Silver Weight: 0.8535 oz
- Weight: 28.7 g
- Diameter: 38 mm
- Edge: Plain
- Certification Number: 58985843
Market Context
Certification now plays a major role in the Swan Dollar market. That matters because the issue has attracted strong collector demand. It also faces counterfeits and modern replicas in the broader marketplace.
GreatCollections previously sold a PCGS Proof-65 CAMEO toned plain edge example for $2,306.25 in May 2022. The current Proof-67 CAMEO example offers a higher grade and a strong visual presentation.
Meanwhile, PCGS reports 44 total certification events for the 1967 $1 X-M2 Plain Edge in PRCAM. That number should not be read as a survival count. Still, it shows how limited the certified CAMEO population remains.
Why Collectors Should Care
The 1967 Mészáros Swan Dollar stands at the intersection of art, protest, and national identity.
It was not an official coin. Yet it responded to a real public debate. It came from a serious artist who had competed for Australia’s official decimal coinage, and used native Australian imagery. It also anticipated a denomination that would not enter circulation until 1984.
Therefore, this coin does more than fill a catalog slot. It tells the story of the dollar coin Australia did not strike in 1966.
For collectors, that gives the Swan Dollar lasting power. For this particular piece, the story goes even further. It began as a $30 coin-shop curiosity. Now it appears as a PCGS Proof-67 CAMEO toned example in a GreatCollections auction.
