Spanish piece of eight (Real de a ocho)

Timeline

1. 1497Crown of Castile–Aragon · SpainThe 1497 currency reform established the piece of eight as a standard denomination alongside gold coins, specifying fineness and weight, laying the institutional foundation for the later global circulation of the "Real de a ocho."
2. 1571–1580Potosí · Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia)In the 1570s, the Potosí silver mines and colonial mints in Mexico, Lima, and elsewhere produced pieces of eight on a large scale, shipping them to Europe and Asia via the Acapulco–Manila route and the Seville–Americas trade network, making it the most widely circulated silver coin in the world at the time.
3. 1575–1700Manila · LuzonIn the late 1570s, the piece of eight entered East Asia through Manila–Acapulco galleon trade, settling with Ming, Japanese, and Southeast Asian merchants, and influenced the forms of many later countries' silver coins and currency terms such as "yuan" and "round."