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Spanish Piece of Eight Silver Coin
The Spanish real de a ocho (piece of eight) was the Habsburg Empire's standard silver dollar minted from American mines, c.…
Timeline
- 1597Mexico City · MexicoIn 1597 the Mexico City and Potosí mints standardized piece-of-eight weight and fineness by royal decree; the obverse bore the Spanish royal arms and the reverse a cross with castle-and-lion heraldry, facilitating face-value circulation across the empire.
- 1598–1600Seville · SevilleFrom 1598 to 1600, piece-of-eight silver coins arrived in Seville aboard treasure fleets for registration at the Casa de Contratación, then distributed to European merchants, army pay, and Asian trade settlements, becoming a key physical currency of the transoceanic economic cycle.
Sources
- Spanish dollar https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spanish-dollar
- Pieces of Eight: The Monetary History of the Spanish Empire