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The Spanish 8 Reales contains 27 grams of 90.3% silver. Spanish 8 Reales were called "Pieces of Eight" by pirates.
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The obverse depicts King Ferdinand VII. King Ferdinand VII is wearing a Roman toga and crown of wreaths.
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The reverse depicts a coat of arms flanked by the Pillars of Hercules. The Pillars of Hercules inspired the dollar sign $.
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The 8 Reales is one of the most widely traded coins in history. Spanish 8 Reales circulated in America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Spanish 8 Reales circulated in America since colonial times. The Spanish 8 Reales inspired the US silver dollar. Spanish 8 Reales remained legal tender in the US until the Civil War.
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Chinese merchants stamped "chop marks" onto 8 Reales to authenticate them.
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Australians often drilled holes into 8 Reales, creating a "Holey dollar."
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It's common practice to cut up 8 Reales into little pieces to be spent as small change. Pieces cut from 8 Reales are called "bits." In fact, a US quarter is sometimes called "2 bits."
Yes, those are some of the most interesting coins I have seen in a while. I like them.
The 8 Reales is one of the most important coins in history. The 8 Reales circulated in every continent inhabited by man. It's the first "world currency." It is the forerunner to the US silver dollar. These coins are immortalized in pirate lore as "pieces of eight." Thanks for stoping by!
I love this coin and dude you have expensive tastes 😁. I like the fact that they where probably cut up to pay bar bills by pirates. Love the fact about the quarter also being called 2 bits as I love a random fact.
My random fact of the day - cartwheel pennies are used to keep time In big ben
Thanks. Cartwheel pennies were the first coins made with steam presses. I believe cartwheel pennies were made by the Birmingham Mint/Soho Mint/Heaton Mint rather than the Royal Mint?
Awesome sauce dude well writen thanks for the info
Thanks. I'm going to post a video of my 8 Reales on YouTube next
Thanks for the History lesson, I always thought pieces of 8 was just a thing the pirates parrots said.
I like the Coin with the Chop marks, shows a quaint history of it changing hands in China. Ahoy, @mrmonkeyswag96 One of these days I'll post me only genuine Mexico 1794 8R she's bout G+ in me sloppy grading skills. And I'd fancy a Blackbird as me Pirate Pet than a Parrot.
Thanks, real pirates most likely never had pet parrots either lol
Those coins have seen soem rough times. High grades are really rare for the silver ones I bet. I always see them with that big nose half disappeared/worn of.
Many of the 8 reales found in ebay were recovered from shipwrecks, suffering from corrosion in sea water