Spanish Piece of Eight Silver Coin (peso)

Type Object Region Spain Time c. 1497–1821

Castile's real de a ocho (peso or 'Spanish dollar') was a heavy silver coin of fixed silver content that became the core settlement medium of transat…

Timeline

1536–1540Mexico City · Mexico CityIn 1536 the Mexico City royal mint officially began production, striking New World silver into unified coins by the Castilian piece-of-eight standard, providing a standardized precious-metal medium for subsequent transoceanic bulk trade.
c. 1541–1550Seville–Americas–Caribbean route · SevilleIn the 1540s, as Peruvian and Mexican silver output rose, piece-of-eight production surged, shipped to Europe through Seville's trade monopoly system, gradually becoming common hard currency in the Mediterranean, North Africa, and later Asian markets.

Sources

A History of Money: From Ancient Times to the Present Day — Glyn Davies (2002)
Spanish Money and the Real de a Ocho — John J. McCusker