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Spanish Piece of Eight Silver Coin
The Spanish real de a ocho was a standard large silver coin struck by Habsburg Spain from American silver, weighing about 27 grams at roughly 93% pur…
Timeline
- 1497–1535Seville · AndalusiaThe 1497 currency reform of the Catholic Monarchs established the weight and fineness standard for the real de a ocho, laying the institutional foundation for large-scale minting of American silver.
- 1551–1560Mexico City · Mexico CityIn the 1550s, silver output from mines such as Potosí surged; the mints of Mexico City and Lima mass-produced real de a ocho coins by hammer striking, shipping them to Europe and Asia via the Spanish treasure fleets as the core currency of colonial trade.
- 1571–1700Manila · ManilaThrough the Manila galleon trade, the real de a ocho reached China's southeastern coast and Southeast Asia, becoming an important foreign silver coin from the late Ming through the early Qing, influencing East Asia's silverization.
Sources
- A History of Money: From Ancient Times to the Present Day — Glyn Davies (2002)
- Spanish Dollars and Silver Tokens: The Story of the Pieces of Eight — Robert R. Freeman (1996)