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Piece of Eight Silver Coin

Type Object Region Europe Time c. 1497–1730

The piece of eight (real de a ocho, also known as the "Spanish dollar" or "benyang") was a standardized high-fineness silver coin minted by the Spani…

Timeline

  1. c. 1497–1570Seville · AndalusiaThe Spanish crown unified the fineness and denomination system of silver coins, making the piece of eight the standard large silver coin unit and laying the institutional foundation for its subsequent global circulation.
  2. c. 1572–1600Potosí · Upper PeruRoyal mints were established in Mexico City, Potosí, and elsewhere; large quantities of piece-of-eight silver coins were struck directly from American silver and shipped to Europe and Asia aboard Spanish treasure fleets.
  3. c. 1611–1620Acapulco–Manila trade route · Pacific tradeBetween 1611 and 1620, pieces of eight flowed in large numbers into East Asia via the galleon trade, circulating widely in late Ming China and Southeast Asia as the "benyang," and became the core means of payment in the transpacific–Indian Ocean trade sphere.
  4. c. 1700–1730Spain · SpainThe Bourbon dynasty carried out currency reforms, and new coin designs gradually replaced the traditional piece-of-eight design, but the old coins already in circulation continued to circulate on global markets for a long time and influenced later silver dollar systems.

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