Spanish dollar

{{Short description|Silver coin}} {{Redirect|Pieces of eight|other uses|Pieces of Eight (disambiguation)}} {{Use American English|date=February 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {| align="right"

|{{Coin image box 1 double | header = Eight-reale coin of the [[Catholic Monarchs]] | image = Image:Reyes Católicos 8 reales 28829.jpg | caption_left = '''Reverse''' {{lang|la|FERNANDVS ET ELISABET DEI GR[ATIA]}} "[[Ferdinand V of Spain|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]], by the Grace of God" Displays the arms of the Catholic Monarchs post 1492, with [[Granada]] in base. Letter S on the left is the sign of the mint of [[Seville]] and VIII on the right i.e. eight in roman numerals. | caption_right = '''Obverse''' {{lang|la|REX ET REGINA CASTELE LEGIONIS A[RAGONIS]}} "King and Queen of [[Crown of Castile|Castile, Leon]], [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]]…" Displays the personal emblems of the monarchs: [[Yoke and arrows|Isabella's yoke and Ferdinand's arrows]]. | width = 250 | position = right | margin = 0 }} |- |{{Coin image box 1 double | header = Silver dollar of [[Philip V of Spain]], 1739 | image = Image:Philip V Coin silver, 8 Reales Mexico.jpg | caption_left = '''Reverse''' {{lang|la|VTRAQUE VNUM M[EXICO] 1739}} "Both (are) one, Mexico [City Mint], 1739" Displays two hemispheres of a world map, crowned between the [[Pillars of Hercules]] adorned with the [[Plus Ultra|''PLUS VLTR[A]'' motto]]. | caption_right = '''Obverse''' {{lang|la|PHILIP[PUS] V D[EI] G[RATIA] HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX}} "Philip V, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies" Displays the arms of [[Castile and León]] with [[Granada]] in base and an [[inescutcheon]] of [[County of Anjou|Anjou]]. | width = 250 | position = right | margin = 0 }} |- |{{Coin image box 1 double | header = Silver dollar of [[Ferdinand VI of Spain]], 1753 | image = Image:Ferdinand VI Coin.jpg | caption_left = '''Reverse''' {{lang|la|VTRAQUE VNUM M[EXICO] 1753 M}} "Both (are) one, Mexico [City Mint], 1753." Displays two hemispheres of a world map, crowned between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with the ''PLUS VLT[R]A'' motto. | caption_right = '''Obverse''' {{lang|la|FERD[INA]ND[US] VI D[EI] G[RATIA] HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX}} "Ferdinand VI, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies" Displays the [[arms of Castile and León]] with [[Granada]] in base and an [[inescutcheon]] of [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]]. | width = 250 | position = right | margin = 0 }} |- |{{Coin image box 1 double | header = Silver dollar of King [[Charles IV of Spain]], 1806 | image = Image:Carlos IV Coin.jpg | caption_left = '''Obverse''' {{lang|la|CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA 1806}} "Charles IV by the Grace of God, 1806." Right profile of Charles IV in soldier's dress with laurel wreath. It was under the reign of this monarch that the [[United States Mint]] began the U.S. silver dollar in 1794. | caption_right = '''Reverse''' {{lang|la|HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX M[EXICO] 8 R[EALES] T H}}"King of the Spains and the Indies, Mexico [City Mint], 8 Reales." Crowned Spanish coat of arms between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with ''PLVS VLTRA'' motto | width = 250 | position = right | margin = 0 }} |- |{{Coin image box 1 double | header = Silver dollar of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain]], 1821 | image = Image:Ferdinand VII Coin.jpg | caption_left = '''Obverse''' ''FERDIN[ANDUS] VII DEI GRATIA 1821''"Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God, 1821." Right profile of Ferdinand VII with cloak and laurel wreath | caption_right = '''Reverse''' ''HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX M[EXICO] 8 R[EALES] I I''"King of the Spains and the Indies, Mexico [City Mint], 8 reales." Crowned Spanish coat of arms between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with ''PLVS VLTRA'' motto | width = 250 | position = right | margin = 0 }} |}

The '''Spanish dollar''', originally known as the '''piece of eight''' ({{langx|es|'''real de a ocho'''}}, {{lang|es|'''peso duro'''}}, {{lang|es|'''peso fuerte'''}} or {{lang|es|'''[[peso]]'''}}), and much later also {{lang|es|'''dólar'''}}, is a silver coin of about {{cvt|38|mm}} diameter worth eight [[Spanish real]]es. It was minted in the [[Spanish Empire]], following a monetary reform in 1497, with content {{convert|25.563|g|ozt|abbr=on}} fine silver. It was widely used as the first [[world currency|international currency]] because of its uniformity in standard and [[Milling (minting)|milling]] characteristics. Some countries [[countermark]]ed the Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/124716/coin/16030/Dissemination-of-Hispanic-American-coinage|title= Dissemination of Hispanic-American coinage|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date= 7 February 2012|archive-date= 29 December 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111229235442/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/124716/coin/16030/Dissemination-of-Hispanic-American-coinage|url-status= live}}</ref>

Because the Spanish dollar was widely used in Europe, the Americas, and the Far East, it became the first world currency by the 16th century.<ref name="Woodcock2009">{{cite book|first=Ray|last=Woodcock|title=Globalization from Genesis to Geneva: A Confluence of Humanity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_75TAjONToC|access-date=13 August 2013|date=1 May 2009|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4251-8853-5|pages=104–105|archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210090501/https://books.google.com/books?id=N_75TAjONToC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Osborne2012">{{cite book|author=Thomas J. Osborne|title=Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvA3jL4CFCMC|access-date=13 August 2013|date=29 November 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-29217-4|page=31|archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210100444/https://books.google.com/books?id=FvA3jL4CFCMC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Roy |title=Origin and history of the world dollar and dollar sign |url=https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/dollar.html |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606190200/http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/dollar.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Spanish dollar was the coin upon which the original United States dollar was based, at {{convert|0.7735|ozt|g|}}, and it remained [[legal tender]] in the United States until the [[Coinage Act of 1857]]. Many other currencies around the world, such as the [[Japanese yen]] and the [[Yuan (currency)|Chinese yuan]], were initially based on the Spanish dollar and other eight-real coins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-silver-way-explains-how-the-old-mexican-dollar-changed-20410|title='The Silver Way' Explains How the Old Mexican Dollar Changed the World|first=Salvatore|last=Babones|date=30 April 2017|website=The National Interest|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-date=1 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001020247/https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-silver-way-explains-how-the-old-mexican-dollar-changed-20410|url-status=live}}</ref> Most theories trace the origin of the [[Dollar sign|"$" symbol]], which originally had two vertical bars, to the [[Pillars of Hercules]] wrapped in ribbons that appear on the reverse side of the Spanish dollar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cordingly|first1=David|title=Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates|url=https://archive.org/details/underblackflagro00cord_0|url-access=registration|date=1996|publisher=Random House|page=[https://archive.org/details/underblackflagro00cord_0/page/36 36]|isbn=9780679425601}}</ref>

The term {{lang|es|peso}} was used in Spanish to refer to this denomination, and it became the basis for many of the currencies in the former Spanish viceroyalties, including the [[Argentine peso|Argentine]], [[Bolivian peso|Bolivian]], [[Chilean peso|Chilean]], [[Colombian peso|Colombian]], [[Costa Rican peso|Costa Rican]], [[Cuban peso|Cuban]], [[Dominican peso|Dominican]], [[Ecuadorian peso|Ecuadorian]], [[Guatemalan peso|Guatemalan]], [[Honduran peso|Honduran]], [[Mexican peso|Mexican]], [[Nicaraguan peso|Nicaraguan]], [[Paraguayan peso|Paraguayan]], [[Philippine peso|Philippine]], [[Puerto Rican peso|Puerto Rican]], [[Peruvian real|Peruvian]], [[Salvadoran peso|Salvadoran]], [[Uruguayan peso|Uruguayan]], and [[Venezuelan peso|Venezuelan]] pesos. Of these, ''peso'' remains the name of the official currency in the Philippines, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.

==History== {{main article|Currency of Spanish America}}

===Etymology=== In the 16th century, Count [[Hieronymus Schlick]] of [[Bohemia]] began minting a silver coin known as a {{lang|de|[[Joachimsthaler]]}}, or simply {{lang|de|thaler}}, named after ''{{lang|de|[[Jáchymov|Joachimsthal]]|italic=no}},'' the valley in the [[Ore Mountains]] where the silver was mined.<ref name="NatGeo">National Geographic. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''.</ref> The word {{lang|de|thaler}} was borrowed into English as ''dollar'' and came to be used for a number of European coins, including the Spanish peso, or piece of eight.

"Peso de a Ocho" truly translates as "weight of eight", meaning that it is valued at eight royals (ocho reales), but English speakers heard "peso", and translated that as "piece". The word "weight" or "peso" is related to money due to the fact that when coin was made out of silver or gold, weighing it was often used to verify value.<ref>{{cite OED|dollar|7936244852}}</ref>

===Europe and colonial North America=== The {{lang|de|Joachimsthaler}} consisted of {{convert|451|gr|g ozt|lk=in|adj=pre|troy}} of silver. This coin's success led to similar {{lang|de|thaler}}s being minted in [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] and France and their ultimate succession by the long-lived [[Reichsthaler]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], used from the 16th to 19th centuries, of {{convert|25.984|g|ozt|abbr=on}} pure silver.

The Netherlands also introduced its own dollars in the 16th century: the Burgundian Cross Thaler ({{lang |nl |Bourgondrische Kruisdaalder}}), the German-inspired {{lang |nl |[[Rijksdaalder]]}}, and the Dutch lion dollar ({{lang |nl |leeuwendaalder}}). The latter coin was used for Dutch trade in the Middle East, in the Dutch East Indies and West Indies, and in the [[Thirteen Colonies]] of North America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Lion-Dollar.intro.html|title=Lion Dollar – Introduction|website=coins.nd.edu|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710214930/https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Lion-Dollar.intro.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For the English North American colonists, however, the Spanish peso or "piece of eight" has always held first place, and this coin was also called the "dollar" as early as 1581. After the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of American Independence]], the United States dollar was introduced in 1792 at par with this coin at 371.25 grains = 0.7735 troy ounces = 24.0566 g. [[Alexander Hamilton]] arrived at these numbers based on a treasury assay of the average fine silver content of a selection of worn Spanish dollars.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', entry on "dollar", definition 2 ("The English name for the peso or piece of eight (i.e. eight {{lang|es|reales}}), formerly current in Spain and the Spanish American colonies").</ref>

The term ''cob'' was used in Ireland and the British colonies to mean a piece of eight or a Spanish-American dollar, because Spanish gold and silver coins were irregularly shaped and crudely struck before the machine-milled dollar was introduced in 1732{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}.

===Spain=== {{See also|Spanish real|Peso}} [[File:17th Century Spanish Treasure Silver 8 Reales Cob Coin.jpg|thumb|left|A silver Spanish dollar minted in Mexico City {{circa|1650}}]]

After the introduction of the [[Guldengroschen]] in Austria in 1486, the concept of a large silver coin with high purity (sometimes known as "specie" coinage) eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. Monetary reform in Spain brought about the introduction of an eight-real (or one-peso) coin in 1497, minted to the following standards: * In 1497: {{frac|8|3|8}} dollars to a Castilian mark of silver (230.0465 grams), {{frac|134|144}} or 0.9306 fine (25.561 g fine silver = 0.8218 oz t) * In 1728: $8.50 to a mark, {{frac|11|12}} or 0.9167 fine (24.809 g fine silver = 0.7976 oz t) * In 1772: $8.50 to a mark, {{frac|130|144}} or 0.9028 fine (24.443 g fine silver = 0,78554 oz t); but true fineness 1772–1821 believed to be only 0.89.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Spanish dollar and the colonial shilling, pp 616–617: 24.038g fine / 27.07g = 0.89|journal = The American Historical Review|volume = 3|issue = 4|pages = 607–619|jstor = 1834139|last1 = Sumner|first1 = W. G.|year = 1898|doi = 10.2307/1834139}}</ref>

This was supplemented in 1537 by the gold ''escudo'', minted at 68 to a mark of gold 0.917 fine (fineness reduced to 0.906 in 1742 and 0.875 in 1786). It was valued at 15–16 reales or approximately two dollars. The famed ''Gold Doubloon'' was worth two escudos or approximately four dollars.

From the 15th to the 19th centuries the coin was minted with several different designs at various mints in Spain and the [[New World]], having gained wide acceptance beyond Spain's borders. Thanks to the vast silver deposits that were found mainly in [[Potosí]], in modern-day [[Bolivia]], and to a lesser extent in Mexico (for example, at [[Taxco, Guerrero|Taxco]] and [[Zacatecas, Zacatecas|Zacatecas]]), and to silver from Spain's possessions throughout the Americas, mints in Mexico and [[Peru]] also began to strike the coin. The main New World mints for Spanish dollars were at [[National Mint of Bolivia|Potosí]], Lima, and [[Mexican Mint|Mexico City]] (with minor mints at [[Bogotá]], [[Popayán]], [[Guatemala City]], and [[Santiago]]), and silver dollars from these mints could be distinguished from those minted in Spain by the Pillars of Hercules design on the reverse.

The dollar or peso was divided into eight reales in Spanish Latin America until the 19th century, when the peso was divided into 100 centavos. However, monetary turbulence in Spain, beginning under the reign of [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]], resulted in the dollar being subdivided as follows in Spain only: * Until 1642: $1 = 8 reales, subsequently called ''reales nacionales'' * From 1642: $1 = 10 ''reales provinciales'' * From 1687: $1 = {{frac|15|2|34}} ''reales de vellón'' (made of [[billon (alloy)|billon alloy]]; edict not effective) * From 1737: $1 = 20 ''reales de vellón'' * In 1864: $1 = 2 [[Spanish escudo#silver escudo|silver escudos]] (different from the gold escudo) * And finally, in 1869: $1 = 5 [[Spanish peseta]]s, the latter at par with the [[French franc]] in the [[Latin Monetary Union]].

Spain's adoption of the [[Spanish peseta|peseta]], in 1869, and its joining the [[Latin Monetary Union]] meant the effective end of the last vestiges of the Spanish dollar in Spain itself. However, the five-peseta coin (or {{lang|es|duro}}) was slightly smaller and lighter but was also of high-purity (90%) silver.

In the 1990s, commemorative 2,000-peseta coins were minted, similar in size and weight to the dollar.

===Mexico=== {{stack|[[File:Spanish_Dollar,_minted_in_Mexico_City_1809.jpg|thumb|Spanish Real de a Ocho coin (referred to as a "peso" or sometimes as a "dollar") minted in Mexico City ({{circa|1809}}).]]}} Following independence in 1821, Mexican coinage of silver reales and gold escudos followed that of Spanish lines until [[decimalization]] and the introduction of the peso, worth eight reales, or 100 centavos. It continued to be minted to Spanish standards throughout the 19th century, with the peso at {{convert|27.07|g}} of 0.9028 fine silver, and the escudo at {{convert|3.383|g}} of 0.875 fine gold. The [[Mexican peso]], or eight-real coin, continued to be a popular international trading coin throughout the 19th century.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

After 1918, the peso was reduced in size and fineness, with further reductions in the 1940s and 1950s. Coins of two- (1921), five- (1947), and ten-peso (1955) denominations were also minted during the same period, with sizes and fineness similar to the old peso.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

===Australia=== After the [[colony of New South Wales]] was founded in Australia in 1788, it ran into the problem of a lack of coinage, particularly since trading vessels took coins out of the colony in exchange for their cargo. In 1813, Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]] made creative use of £10,000 in Spanish dollars sent by the British government. To make it difficult to take the coins out of the colony, and to double their number, the centres of the coins were punched out. The punched centre, known as the "dump", was valued at 15 [[British One Penny coin (pre-decimal)|pence]], and the outer rim, known as the "[[holey dollar]]", was worth five [[Shilling (British coin)|shilling]]s. This was indicated by overstamping the two new coins. The obverse of the holey dollar was stamped the words "New South Wales" and the date, 1813, and the reverse with the words "five shillings". The obverse of the dump was stamped with a crown, the words "New South Wales" and the date, 1813, and the reverse with the words "fifteen pence". The mutilated coins became the first official currency produced specifically for circulation in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=National Museum of Australia – Holey dollar|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/holey-dollar|website=www.nma.gov.au|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212939/https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/holey-dollar|url-status=live}}</ref> The expedient was relatively short-lived. The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] passed the Sterling Silver Money Act in 1825, which made British coins the only recognised form of currency and ended any legitimate use of the holey dollar and dump in the Australian colonies.<ref>{{cite web|title=History: Fact Sheet 1|url=http://www.ramint.gov.au/education/downloads/2011_History_Fact_Sheet1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312014012/http://www.ramint.gov.au/education/downloads/2011_History_Fact_Sheet1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-03-12|website=Royal Australian Mint|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=2015-12-16}}</ref>

===United States=== The [[Coinage Act of 1792]] created the [[United States Mint]] and initially defined the United States dollar at par with the Spanish dollar due to its international reputation:

<blockquote> By far the leading specie coin circulating in America was the Spanish silver dollar, defined as consisting of 387 grains of pure silver. The dollar was divided into "pieces of eight," or "bits," each consisting of one-eighth of a dollar. Spanish dollars came into the North American colonies through lucrative trade with the West Indies. The Spanish silver dollar had been the world's outstanding coin since the early 16th century, and was spread partially by dint of the vast silver output of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. More important, however, was that the Spanish dollar, from the 16th to the 19th century, was relatively the most stable and least debased coin in the Western world. <ref name=Rothbard>[[Murray Rothbard|Rothbard, Murray]], [http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard260.html Commodity Money in Colonial America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618045225/http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard260.html |date=18 June 2015 }}, ''[[LewRockwell.com]]''</ref> </blockquote>

The [[Coinage Act of 1792]] specified that the U.S. dollar would contain 371.25 grains (24.057 g) pure or 416 grains (26.96 g) standard silver. This specification was based on the average weight of a random selection of worn Spanish dollars which [[Alexander Hamilton]] ordered to be weighed at the Treasury. Initially this dollar was comparable to the 371–373 grains found in circulating Spanish dollars and aided in its exportation overseas.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 1834139|title = The Spanish Dollar and the Colonial Shilling|journal = The American Historical Review|volume = 3|issue = 4|pages = 607–619|last1 = Sumner|first1 = W. G.|year = 1898|doi = 10.2307/1834139}}</ref> The restoration of the old 0.9028 fineness in the [[Mexican peso]] after 1821, however, increased the latter's silver content to 24.44 g and reduced the export demand for U.S. dollars.

Before the [[American Revolution]], owing to British [[mercantilism|mercantilist]] policies, there was a chronic shortage of British currency in Britain's colonies. Trade was often conducted with Spanish dollars that had been obtained through illicit trade with the [[West Indies]]. Spanish coinage was legal tender in the United States until the [[Coinage Act of 1857]] discontinued the practice. The pricing of equities on U.S. stock exchanges in {{frac|1|8}}-dollar denominations persisted until the [[New York Stock Exchange]] converted first to pricing in sixteenths of a dollar on 24 June 1997, and then in 2001 to decimal pricing.

===Africa=== In Egypt, Spanish dollars with the pillars of Hercules on the back had amuletic and magical significance. These pillars were interpreted as cannons by Egyptians, which are made of iron. Iron is useful in defending against jinn, leading to the magical association.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Roode |first=Sigrid M. |title=Silver of the Possessed: Jewellry in the Egyptian zar}}</ref>

===Asia=== [[File:1888 México 8 Reals Trade Coin Silver.jpg|thumb|left|1888 Mexican dollar with Chinese ''chop marks'']]Long tied to the lore of [[pirate|piracy]], "pieces of eight" were manufactured in the [[Hispanic America|Spanish Americas]] and [[Spanish treasure fleet|transported]] in bulk back to Spain, making them a very tempting target for seagoing pirates. In the Far East, it also arrived in the form of the [[Philippine peso]] in the [[Philippines]] as part of the [[Spanish East Indies]] of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial empire]] through the [[Manila galleon]]s that transported [[#Mexico|Mexican silver peso]] to [[Manila]] in the [[Manila galleon|Manila–Acapulco Galleon Trade]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Babones|first=Salvatore|date=April 30, 2017|title='The Silver Way' Explains How the Old Mexican Dollar Changed the World|url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-silver-way-explains-how-the-old-mexican-dollar-changed-20410|website=The National Interest|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-date=1 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001020247/https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-silver-way-explains-how-the-old-mexican-dollar-changed-20410|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|year=1900|title=Report of the Philippine commission to the President, January 31, 1900, page 142-149, Part IX: The Currency|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tn7hAAAAMAAJ&q=report+of+the+philippine+commission+january+1900+part+ix+currency&pg=PR7|access-date=9 November 2021|archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210090430/https://books.google.com/books?id=tn7hAAAAMAAJ&q=report+of+the+philippine+commission+january+1900+part+ix+currency&pg=PR7#v=snippet&q=report%20of%20the%20philippine%20commission%20january%201900%20part%20ix%20currency&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> where it would be exchanged for Philippine and [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese goods]],<ref>{{citation|author=[[Charles C. Mann]]|title=1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IqaMEWNvsJQC|pages=123–163|year=2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-307-59672-7|access-date=9 November 2021|archive-date=18 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218081203/https://books.google.com/books?id=IqaMEWNvsJQC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Brook|first=Timothy|title=The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuMcHWWbXqMC|pages=205|year=1998|location=Berkeley|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-21091-3|authorlink=Timothy Brook|access-date=9 November 2021|archive-date=18 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218081156/https://books.google.com/books?id=YuMcHWWbXqMC|url-status=live}}</ref> since silver was the only foreign commodity China would accept. In Oriental trade, Spanish dollars were often stamped with Chinese characters known as ''chop marks'', which indicated that a coin so marked had been [[Metallurgical assay|assay]]ed by a well-known merchant and determined to be genuine. The specifications of the Spanish dollar became a standard for trade in the Far East, with later Western powers issuing [[trade dollar]]s, and colonial currencies such as the [[Hong Kong dollar]], to the same specifications.

The first [[Silver Dragon (coin)#China|Chinese yuan]] coins had the same specification as a Spanish dollar, leading to a continuing equivalence in some respects between the names "yuan" and "dollar" in the Chinese language. Other currencies also derived from the dollar include the [[Japanese yen]], [[Korean Empire won|Korean won]], [[Philippine peso]], [[Malaysian ringgit]], [[French Indochinese piastre]], etc. since it was widely traded across the Far East in the [[East Indies]] and East Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://chinesemoneymatters.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/41-chinese-guides-for-identifying-silver-dollars-and-other-coins-19th-century/ |title=Chinese Guides for identifying Silver Dollars and Other Coins, 19th Century |date=16 February 2018 |access-date=7 February 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321133852/https://chinesemoneymatters.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/41-chinese-guides-for-identifying-silver-dollars-and-other-coins-19th-century/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Contemporary names used for Spanish dollars in Qing dynasty China include {{lang|cmn-Latn|běnyáng}} ({{lang|zh|本洋}}), {{lang|cmn-Latn|shuāngzhù}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|雙柱}}), {{lang|cmn-Latn|zhùyáng}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|柱洋}}), {{lang|cmn-Latn|fóyáng}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|佛洋}}), {{lang|cmn-Latn|fótóu}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|佛頭}}), {{lang|cmn-Latn|fóyín}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|佛銀}}), and {{lang|cmn-Latn|fótóuyín}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|佛頭銀}}). The "{{lang|cmn-Latn|fó|italics=no}}" element in those Chinese names referred to the King of Spain in those coins, as his face resembled that of images of the Buddha ({{lang|zh|佛}} in Chinese); and the "{{lang|cmn-Latn|zhù|italics=no}}" part of those names referred to the two pillars in the [[Spanish coat of arms]]. [[File:Espacio de influencia del real de a ocho y otras monedas españolas y portuguesas.svg|thumb|Area of influence of the real de a ocho and other Spanish and Portuguese coins]]

==Fiction==  In modern pop culture and fiction, pieces of eight are most often associated with [[Pirates in popular culture|the popular notion of pirates]].

* In [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Treasure Island]]'', [[Long John Silver]]'s parrot has learned to cry out "Pieces of eight!" This use tied the coin (and parrots) to fictional depictions of pirates. Deriving from the wide popularity of this book, "pieces of eight" is sometimes used to mean "money" or "a lot of money", regardless of specific denomination, and also as a synonym for treasure in general. * In the film ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End]]'' the Pirate Lords must meet together by presenting the "Nine Pieces of Eight", since these Pieces were used to seal the goddess [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] in [[Tia Dalma|her human form]] by the first Brethren Court. The ninth "piece of eight" hangs off [[Jack Sparrow]]'s bandana in the early films, up to its destruction in this film. * In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Going Postal]]'', the antagonist, Reacher Gilt (who physically resembles a stereotypical pirate), has a cockatoo named Alphonse which has been trained to say "Twelve and half percent!", that is to say a single piece of eight.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Going Postal |first=Terry |last=Pratchett |author-link=Terry Pratchett |publisher=Doubleday |year=2004 |isbn=0-385-60342-8}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Money|Numismatics}} {{Commons category|8 real coins|Spanish dollar}} *{{anl|Doubloon}} *{{anl|Columnarios}} *{{anl|Maria Theresa thaler}} *{{anl|Piastre}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== *[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/899331573 Hockenhull, Thomas (ed.), ''Symbols of Power: Ten Coins That Changed the World''] (British Museum, 2015): The Dollar (pp. 130–145). *[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961409002 Gordon, Peter and Morales, Juan José, ''The Silver Way: China, Spanish America and the Birth of Globalisation 1565–1815''] (Penguin Special, 2017) *{{cite journal |last=Pond |first=Shepard |date=February 1941 |title=The Spanish Dollar: The World's Most Famous Silver Coin |jstor=3111072 |journal=Bulletin of the Business Historical Society |publisher=The President and Fellows of Harvard College |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=12–16 |doi= 10.2307/3111072}} *[https://coinworks.com.au/We-admit-it-We-just-love-Ferdinand-VII-Holey-Dollars-They-are-as-rare-as-they-are-intriguing~15872 Ferdinand VII Holey Dollars]

==External links== *[https://real8.org/about-real8/history/ History of the Real de a Ocho] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090214020351/http://ebacson.sky.vn/archives/345 Hispan collections] (archived 14 February 2009) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090214014034/http://ebacson.sky.vn/archives/352 HISPAN 1776] (archived 14 February 2009) * [http://www.columnarios.com/ Information on Columnarios] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224084722/http://columnarios.com/ |date=24 December 2018 }} * [http://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/colonialcoinage.htm The Colonial Coinage of Spanish America:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513172308/http://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/colonialcoinage.htm |date=13 May 2021 }}'' An introduction by Daniel Frank Sedwick'' * [https://www.money.org/collector/user_74883/blog/the-8-reales-the-history-of-the-first-international-currency-that-gave-rise-to-almost-all-the-world-39-s-legal-tender-cu The 8 reales: the history of the 1st international coin that gave rise to almost all the world's currencies]

[[Category:1490s establishments in Spain]] [[Category:1497 establishments in Europe]] [[Category:Modern obsolete currencies]] [[Category:Coins of Spain|Dollar]] [[Category:Dollar]]