DESCRIPTION
Right profile of Charles III in
toga with laurel wreath.
Crowned Spanish arms between the
Pillars of Hercules adorned with PLVS VLTRA ( Latin : Plus ultra, “further beyond” ) motto.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Years : 1772 – 1789
Value : 8 reals
Metal : .917 Silver
Weight : 27.07 g
Diameter : 40mm
Shape : round
HISTORY
The real de a ocho, also known as the Spanish dollar, the eight-real
coin, or the piece of eight (Spanish : peso
de ocho), is a silver coin, worth eight reales, that was minted in the
Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497.
The Spanish dollar was widely used
by many countries as international currency because of its uniformity in
standard and milling characteristics.
The coin was minted with several
different designs at various mints in Spain and the New World.
The 12 mints produced a total of 5 types of silver coins : pillar, shield, pillar and waves, milled pillar, and milled bust.
The 12 mints produced a total of 5 types of silver coins : pillar, shield, pillar and waves, milled pillar, and milled bust.
 |
| pillar |
 |
| shield |
 |
| pillars and waves |
 |
| milled pillars |
 |
| milled bust |
Because it was widely used in
Europe, the Americas, and the Far East, it became the first world currency by
the late 18th century. Millions of
Spanish dollars were minted over the course of several centuries. They were
among the most widely circulating coins of the colonial period in the Americas,
and were still in use in North America and in South-East Asia in the 19th
century.
Some countries countersigned the
Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency. The Spanish dollar was the coin upon which the
original United States dollar was based, and it remained legal tender in the
United States until the Coinage Act of 1857.
Aside from the U.S. dollar, several other existing currencies, such as
the Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan, the Philippine peso,
as well as several currencies in Latin America, were initially based on the
Spanish dollar and other 8-real coins.
The Spanish dollar was often cut
into 8 ‘bits’ to make change. Each bit
equivalent to 1 real ; 2 bits is a quarter of a dollar.
MINTAGE
year
|
variety
|
||
F M
|
M F
|
F F
|
|
1772
|
|||
1773
|
|||
1774
|
|||
1775
|
|||
1776
|
|||
1777
|
|||
1778
|
|||
1779
|
|||
1780
|
|||
1781
|
|||
1782
|
|||
1783
|
|||
1784
|
|||
1785
|
|||
1786
|
|||
1787
|
|||
1788
|
|||
1789
|
|||
Source
http://www.newworldtreasures.com/cointypes.htm
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